Episode 2: Mandalorian Servant
by Robert Preston Matthews
Summary: Whereever you are. Whereever you may go. you must never forget who you are, or how you came to be. You are Mando'ade. You are apart of me, as I am apart of you. This is the truth of your lives and it will remain true after death. Among you are fatherless and motherless children. No Matter. You will treat eachother as vode, as brothers and sisters. You are all family now-Ja'Hailir
1. Chapter 1 In the Blink

Disclaimer: I do not own star wars or any of its character and while plot points are from various RPG games I take no credit for their origins only of their application in the story therein. This a labor of love and not for profit though if Disney or Lucas Arts would like to hire my creative brain I'd be more than happy to drop everything and come running. Please read and leave a review.

 **Star Wars**

 **Episode 2: Mandalorian Servant**

 **Chapter 1: In the Blink**

 _ **...Four Cycles later...**_ **On board the** _ **Ao Var**_

The _Ao Var,_ a battered old Ghtroc 720 arched up and over a rocky outcropping before careening back down to barely skim the surface of the sand once more. Exhaust from the port and starboard engine pods sent up plumes of dust briefly obscuring the half dozen single pilot pursuit craft. Bolts of red energy sprayed from each of the ship's single forward blasters. Despite being a large target the maneuvers of the transport freighter caused more than half of the blasts to fly wide but the rest of them struck stitching pockets across the craft's hull.

The pilot felt the impact all the way forward in the cockpit. Sparks flew from a number of consoles and alarms blared. The freighter was not designed for combat and it was well passed its retirement date, yet Madlyn Kallos, a young Alderanni female, had managed to coax a great many surprises out of the old girl. It was as if she'd been holding out on Madlyn the last eight weeks and was finally showing what her brittle bones were still capable of.

The cabin shook once more. Alarms blared; shields down to 25%. They'd been lucky; Madlyn hadn't thought the ship had any shields at all.

"I know babe," she cooed towards the ship hoping that a little sweet talk will keep her vital systems functioning a bit longer. Next time, if there was to be a 'next time,' she'd drag Tersen Aboleth along with her no matter how much he hated flying. She could sure use the Lannik technician right then and there. Kriff! Slick's basic mechanical know-how would be a godsend at that point. It was physically impossible for her to fly and effect repairs and stars were they in need of repairs.

Madlyn keyed her mic and spoke to her only other passenger, "Jarek we've got a bit of a situation," the ship shook again as she banked left and right, emphasizing her point. "If you'd care to blast the scum on our tale I'm sure the galaxy wouldn't mind."

Back down the corridor towards the cargo hold a man in full battle armor struggled to keep his feet as he made his way toward the freighters one defense turret mounted at the top center of the ship. "Working on it Kallos!" he replied opening a hatch and clambering up the access ladder, "Not like they gave us much warning."

"Last I checked pirates rarely liked to post notices," the part-time smuggler retorted banking again to avoid being hit. Jarek had to regain his footing before pulling himself into the turret seat and strapping in. "I could ask them to reschedule if it's too inconvenient for you."

Jarek gripped the turret controls and swung it into action. With a fully charged power cell, the duel barrels spat red angry death at the pursuers. "No thanks, I'm wearing my good armor." He focused fire on a single craft. "Hate to be all dressed up with nowhere to go." A bolt took out the left aileron and the pursuit craft spun wildly before crashing into a sand dune. The following explosion confirmed the kill.

The remaining ships split up and using their superior speed and numbers moved to surround and intercept the larger ship. "They're moving all around! Can't track them all! Kallos?"

In response, the pilot poured on the speed even as two craft swooped in from the front pouring on the laser fire attempting to take out the cockpit. The shields held and as they flew past Jarek managed to take down one.

"Splash two!" He cried scanning for his next target.

"Still four more out there!" Madlyn called out as she brought the ship into a series of tight turns amidst the dunes.

"I can count!" Jarek spat angrily.

The ship shook violently and Madlyn swore loudly. "Shields are gone!" There was the sound of steam venting and brief acrid burning smell drifting up from below. "Fire in the generator room! Stang it!"

Another pair of the crafts dive-bombed the freighter neatly avoiding Jarek's defensive fire. The laser fire tore holes on the hull plating near Jarek's turret. The _Ao Var_ buckled wildly under the attack as if she'd been gut-punched. Her port engine clipped the top of a dune. The ship jerked violently before reorienting. Once they had settled Jarek was able to return fire. By then the pirates had zipped away to prepare for another attack.

"Jarek what part of blast them didn't understand?" Madlyn shouted even as she fought the controls to keep the craft level. Yet another alarm sounded only adding to the cacophony of the cockpit. The last attack had nicked a stabilizer. Any option for fancy maneuvering was being greatly reduced.

Noticing she didn't get a typical snarky reply Madlyn Kallos keyed her mic again. "Jarek? Jarek did you hear me?" Internal comms must be down. _Stang it all_. "Jarek please hit something!" she pleaded more for herself than anything. She may have had a pitiful life but wasn't ready to give it all up just yet.

At that exact moment, Jarek was letting rip with both barrels of the turret. His reward? A third pirate craft plummeted in a burning mass of twisted metal. "Ha burn you _sha'buir_!" he cheered. He was just about to draw a bead on the next pair when the _Ao Var_ suddenly pitched wildly and he was thrown off target.

"Gah!" he shouted angrily "Kallos I can't hit anything if you can't fly better!" No response. Not in the verbal kind anyway. The freighters engines cut out and the reverse stabilizers kicked in. Jarek was slammed back into his chair as the _Ao Var_ nearly flipped up onto its tail end. The sudden drop in speed caused the three remaining pursuit craft to swerve out of the way. By sheer luck, one was caught on one of the _Ao Var's_ exhaust trails and couldn't stabilize quickly enough. The craft pitched and yawed before flipping over and slamming into the sand below. Unfortunately, unlike the first craft, there was no explosion.

Unfortunately moreover, when the craft had moved to avoid the freighter Jarek had gotten a good look into its canopy at the pilot. A very distinctive and very familiar "T" shaped visor much like his own stared back at him.

"Can't be..." he gasped.

 _Ao Var_ straightened and Jarek was able to shake off his shock long enough to realize Madlyn's trick flying had placed both remaining ships directly in his sights. Jarek unloaded everything he had left and brought both crafts down in twin plumes of flame, smoke, and debris. Jarek sighed with relief and leaned back in his harness. He had little time to try and figure out how _they_ hadmanaged to track him down before more pressing matters presented themselves. Namely the smoke that was billowing up from the cargo hold and the physical wellbeing of the pilot.

Jarek slid down the ladder and was dismayed to see that the walls and likewise the crates within the cargo hold were dotted with scorched holes. The ionized plasma bolts had gone straight into contents and ignited them. Spice was meant to be burned at low temperatures in small quantities. By the heat signatures his helmet was picking up the Mandalorian had no doubt that more than three-quarters of their payload was destroyed or ruined by the ozone that was the byproduct of the igniting plasma discharge.

With that depressing thought in mind, Jarek made his way to the cockpit. Seated in the pilot's chair and very much alive was Madlyn Kallos. Though he was relieved to see his friend well, Jarek was too dismayed to smile.

The grin on Madlyn's face, despite speckled in grease, and surrounded by a barely functioning ship, said she was extremely pleased with himself. Why shouldn't she have been? Not only had they taken on six smaller faster ships and won but she had made the old 720 do things that the galaxy had never intended it to do. As a pilot that was a serious mark of pride, but as a smuggler, the loss of their payload was another story.

It had been a hard run for the smuggler/con-woman/rogue. First, she had been ejected from Imperial flight school for "Insubordination" (which was a fancy word for 'stole a shuttle for a quick jaunt around the plant when bored one day'). Then her favorite speeder bike was impounded when she fell behind on her payments. Then Madlyn was arrested for grifting on the streets of Aldera, on Alderaan. Then she was transported for hard labor to the spice mines of Kessel, which was apparently some Alderaani noble's way of getting back at Madlyn for something involving said noble's "Pride". Then pirates attacked the transport carrying her to Kessel and Kallos was press-ganged into service. Then an imperial frigate defeated the pirates and Madlyn was arrested. Somehow she managed to get out of that and ended up flying cargo ships for a gentle-being by the name of Teemo the Hutt, which was how she met Jarek.

In some ways, Jarek would describe the eight weeks he'd known the smuggler, compared to the rest of her life as being the most peaceful and boring eight weeks in her existence. In other ways, she and by extension Jarek had been shot at by both pirates and customs officials and had to make many risky landings in remote and dangerous places.

Despite his long life of misfortune, Madlyn still thought herself lucky - and perhaps in her own way she was.

When Jarek removed his helmet and Madlyn saw the expression on his face his smile fell away. Her face only grew grimmer when Jarek explained the loss of the cargo and especially who exactly their pursuers had been and why they'd been so determined to kill them.

"Well...stang."

 **Pursuit Craft Crash Site.**

The man grunted and groaned as he pulled himself from the wreckage of his speeder. The armor, scratched and scorched, had taken the brunt of the impact but a number of sore joints and potential bruises reminded him he was not a young man anymore. Still, he had a mission to do. Bringing up his heads-up display he attempted to contact with the other five members of his team. No response and all their life form readings showed red.

He sighed. " _Val akaanir par gar_ ," he whispered before straightening and activating his long-range commlink.

"Overwatch, this is Watcher01, come in." His helmets short range system was barely powerful enough to reach his ship in Mos Eisley and from their get redirected to the other Watcher team. His Commlink clicked and he had to strain to hear the response, but it was intermittent at best. "I found Jarek. Sighted on Tatooine headed towards Mos Shuuta." There was static and he heard a broken reply, but it was enough to make out a response.

"If we are to get him, it should be now!" a raspy voice hissed over the commlink. The warrior agreed. Their prey was alone save for that reckless pilot in an area of space that was not known to be friendly to those with bounties on their heads, but still, the Warrior knew he was in no shape to take on the younger Mandalorian. Jarek had eluded him for almost four cycles now but he wouldn't let his pride be the thing that allowed the hunt to end before it began.

" _Udesii_ _ner vode_ ," the warrior said hoping to calm his compatriot, "It is the patient hunter who gets his prey." He heard the reply 'been patient long enough' but didn't rise to the bait, "I'm heading to Mos Shuuta I'll call for reinforcements if I must once there. Until then standby."

He heard his fellow Watcher growl in frustration but acquiesced to the older warrior's greater experience despite being superior in rank. "We'll await your call, _ori'vod_. Just save some of the _aruetyc chakkar's_ mangled corpse for me." With that, the line was terminated.

The Watcher sighed before gathering what supplies he could from the ship and began the long walk to Mos Shuuta. He doubted Jarek would stay there long. If he knew his former...protégé then upon realizing his cover had been blown he'd clear out as soon as possible.

Unlike him though, Jarek had gotten sloppy while on the lamb. The fool had even kept the same name. Sure he'd been effective at not leaving a clear trail but he'd always left witnesses. Like all beings, these former acquaintances had been easily motivated by credits and threats to reveal anything they knew of the one known as Jarek Orion. Now the Death Watch had caught up to him on Tatooine, but he hadn't expected the skill of the freighter pilot and that oversight had cost him his team of Watchers.

"Jarek your atonement will come," he breathed as he made his way across the dunes towards his destination, "I will guarantee that."

 **Whomp Rats Den, Mos Shuuta settlement**

"The Whomp Rats Den" That was a charming and attractive name for a cantina if Jarek ever heard one. The indigenous rodents were pervasive across the lifeless rock and even making their way into the various settlements. The moisture farmers killed them to prevent them from damaging the vaporators. The Tuskin Raiders killed them for food. Many more residents killed them for sport, and yet they continued to thrive.

In a mild epiphany, Jarek wondered if perhaps that was the reason behind the name. Despite the heat, the Imperial occupation, the rival gangs, and all the rest of the ugliness of the galaxy, the cantina endured. The owners varied in survivability but the cantina and its name remained.

Jarek knew all this of course. He'd frequented the establishment enough with Madlyn. Being the only cantina in town it was the only place to get a decent drink after a horrible day of working for Teemo. He had dragged Kallos' unconscious form out of there on more than one occasion.

Good times.

It was easy to land on Tatooine, but once stuck it takes a heroic feat to get off. Villains of all stripes come to this desert believing they can hide from their enemies. Thus, bounty hunters are never at a loss for jobs and many have made their names here such as Jarek himself and Madlyn's boyfriend Slick.

Sheer distance from the core has not lessoned Tatooine's role in Galactic history. Situated on the Triellus Trade Route near Geonosis, Tatooine's proximity to the Corellian Run poses it as a lucrative side jump for hardy traders. While the planet has never been the center of events it always seems to maintain a certain disreputable prominence in the affairs of the Outer Rim.

During its reign, the Empire has installed a number of governors to watch over the lawless world and most do just that - watch. The Hutts are the true masters of Tatooine with Jabba as their head. The vast number of miscreants in the population makes Tatooine a treasure trove of rumors and secrets.

The dingy pitted door slid open at their approach and closed just as soon as they crossed the threshold to keep what modicum of cool air existed inside the structure. As always, or rather as befitting any cantina, the heads of every occupant turned towards the new arrivals. Leary eyes cautiously scanned over his armored body from the ironclad boots to the dual blaster pistols on each thigh to the distinctive "T" shaped visor of his helmet. Though most didn't know him personally, a fact he strove for daily, many recognized the style of armor. Very few outsides of the elite warrior class of Mandalore wore such garb. That reputation alone was enough for most to give him a wide birth.

Madlyn on the other hand barely earned a cursory glance despite being a rather attractive dark skinned woman. She wore a well-used racing coat over equally well-worn pilot gear and a blaster pistol on her hip. With her unkempt hair in a messy knot, she looked like she was born into the back alleys of the Outer Rim.

Jarek and Madlyn stepped down a short flight of stairs into the cantina's shadowy common room. Even though Jarek's suit regulated his temperature, it had trouble coping with the extreme heat of Tatooine's twin suns. As the cool air slipped between the plates of his armor and beneath his helmet he felt a sense of relief. The nature of his job left him few comforts, so Jarek was quick to enjoy these small moments whenever he could.

The Deveronian bartender paused in his chores to stare at them, his devilish features going for intimidating but ending up just short of an ugly sneer. He must've remembered what happened to the last bartender who squared up to the mercenary because he had the good sense to look away and go about his business.

The cantina was in a typical layout. On a stage against the far wall, a Twi'lek danced to prerecorded music. Private booths line the walls, and the main floor was scattered with tables and chairs, a third of which were occupied by the regulars who sought an early buzz during the hottest part of the day. The patrons have since returned their attention from the new arrivals back towards the dancer or their drinks.

By reflex, Jarek noted the only exits from the room were what looked like a storage closet behind the bar and another leading backstage to what he assumed was a dressing room. Thick heavy struts supported the arched roof above him.

They took their customary seats at the bar which was the least crowded place in the cantina and each ordered a drink. They'd landed not long ago with what remained of the _Ao Var_. The loss of the spice was bad enough, but when Teemo's Technician, Tersen Aboleth, had given the ship the once over his prognosis had been enough to send Madlyn's normally cheery personality into a depressed spiral.

They had been expected to report directly to Teemo but were intercepted by the waiting arms of the Womp Rat's Den for the desired respite. They'd need the buzz just to overcome the awaiting rant the Slug was sure to have prepared along with the running tally of how much credits this job would cost them. Might as well enjoy a drink first.

The Deveronian brought them their drinks and the two friends gave each other a halfhearted toast. Jarek having removed his helmet to enjoy the yeasty smell of the cantina and the various stilling scents behind the bar downed the shot.

Jarek would actually miss that smell. He'd miss Kallos as well and maybe even one or two of the other locals in Teemo's employ. He wouldn't miss the slug or the heat of the twin suns, but that was little consolation to be leaving behind friends, but it was the nature of his life.

 **Kalevala: Four Cycles earlier:**

" _Ba'jur bal beskar'gam, Ara'nov, aliit, Mando'a bal Mand'alor—An vencuyan mhi_." The elder Mandalorian, Ja'Hailir as he was known, chanted as he sat before the assembled youths who all knelt in three ranks. Since arriving their collective armor had been taken and were given identical light blue fatigues. There had been no complaints or resistance. Only disciplined compliance. Now they sat before the man that would lead them through the _Verd'Goten_ and help them become part of something more. Not just part of the clan as Jarek had thought but also a part of the _Kyr'tsad._ Whatever the goal, Jarek would prove himself worthy...for his father. He focused harder on Ja'Hailir's words.

"Wherever you are..." he said in a raspy tone that belayed the power that lay beneath, "...Wherever you may go...you must never forget who you are...how you came to be." Jarek felt his gaze rest on him and he fought the urge to look away. The man had the ability to make it seem like he was staring directly into his soul. "You are _Mando'ade_. You are _Kyr'tsad_. You are a part of me...as I am apart of you. This is the truth of your lives...and it will remain true after death." He gestured to the group. "Among you are fatherless and motherless children. Some who have hunted. Some who have killed." His gaze centered on Jarek briefly once more before scanning the group. "No matter. You will treat each other as _vode_ , as brothers and sisters. You are all family now."

 **Mos Shuuta: Present:**

Jarek had gotten comfortable here, but now his past had caught up with him. He would now have to move on. To further lose himself he would probably change his name as well. Bitterly he thought he should've assumed a fake identity cycles ago, but he'd been too prideful to give up his name. The name his father had given him.

That failure in judgment now proved his undoing. He would flee and not take any further chances.

When he finally gave voice to what was on his mind, after another round of drinks, Madlyn stared at him in surprise. "What do you mean you've got to leave?"

Jarek silenced her earning a brief look from the bartender. At a glare from the Mandalorian, he went back to cleaning and stacking glasses. "I mean," Jarek said in a low tone, "those nerfs who attacked us?"

"Yeah."

"They want my head and more of them will be on their way soon. I can't stay here." Stang, he hated doing this. He hated saying goodbye to being who'd become the closest friend he'd had in a very long time. It felt wrong going back out into the galaxy by himself...but then again maybe he didn't have to do it alone... "And you can come with me."

This caused Madlyn to guffaw as she poured herself another glass of Tharaxian brandy. "Can I finish my drink first oh Captain of mine," she replied sarcastically attempting to get a laugh out of Jarek but only succeeded in irritating his friend.

"I'm serious Kallos," Jarek said nudging the Alderanni to emphasize his next words, "I'm leaving and I want you to go with me."

Madlyn snorted again downing her drink and pouring another. "Leave on what? Unless you got a starship hidden up an orifice I don't know about, you can't exactly leave the planet on hopes and good wishes."

Jarek's short temper snapped a bit and he balled a fist before launching it towards the side of Madlyn's head. The two had gotten into a few drunken brawls before; as much with other patrons as with each other. Mainly over who'd cover the tab or a game of sabaac. The aggravation never lasted past the door though. Life was too short for that.

Fortunately for Madlyn and a little to both human's surprise another hand intercepted the punch within inches of the smuggler's temple. The owner of said hand was a tall wry blue-skinned Pantoran male with messy dark hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a long coat, a bandolier of ammo, and a blaster rifle slung across his back.

"Whew that was a close one," he heard Kallos sigh shakily. Jarek looked over at an obviously relieved Madlyn. "Was worried _I'd_ have to stop you."

Jarek arched an amused eyebrow at her. "You stop me?"

"Do play nice children," the new arrival cooed, releasing Jarek's fist, his educated accent at odds with his ragged hunting garb. While his tone was flirty there was no mistaking the ice that flowed beneath it.

"Slick," Jarek grumbled and watched as the bounty hunter stepped around Jarek and stood next to Madlyn.

As long as Jarek had known him, which was only a little longer then Kallos, he'd learned that Sliq'gar'husdo, or Slick, had always been quick and clever. He had also been lucky enough to avoid the press gangs and slavers of the Outer Rim. Jarek didn't know how he'd ended up as a bounty hunter working for Teemo. What he did know was that he'd thrived under the tutelage of a veteran hunter named Gyax, a respected name in their trade. They'd co-opted a few hunts together and his prowess had earned his respect.

In very short order after meeting Slick and Madlyn had gotten on like a house on fire. She loved his tough as rugged leather attitude and he apparently adored her charm and sarcasm. It was enough to make Jarek gag at times. Their relationship may have been another reason Teemo hadn't canned the smuggler earlier in her career. It didn't do well to upset one of his best bounty hunters.

"Don't go punching our girl please," he added sweetly, "Damage the little baby face here and we could have a blind pilot."

Madlyn lifted a glass at him and smirked, "don't count out the blindness just yet, love." She downed the glass and sighed before adding, "Hard to be a pilot without a ship."

He laid a consoling hand on his shoulder. "I heard about that, dear."

"News travels quickly 'round here," Jarek grumbled.

Slick nodded before looking back at Madlyn. "Buy you a drink to ease your woes?"

"No," Madlyn groaned causing the Pantoran to arch an eyebrow, "buy me two. I really liked that old junker." Slick smiled and nodded. He gestured to the Deveronian who brought the drinks. Halfway raising her glass Madlyn lowered it back to the table surface, her expression going from depressed to this side of cocky. "So I take it you're not here to enjoy my company?" she asked.

"I'm afraid not my dear," Slick replied in a lower tone.

The smuggler nodded towards the stage. "Or here to take in the luxuries of Mos Shuuta or the fine cuisine of this lovely establishment."

 _"Did every word have to drip with sarcasm with this girl?"_ Jarek thought, shaking his head slowly. He then looked a question at Slick who replied, "Nope."

"Here on business then," Madlyn seemed to sigh, "That's disappointing."

"You're telling me," Slick also sighed before finally took the offered seat. He rested both arms on the table which seemed to help Madlyn relax a bit. "Teemo ordered me to bring you in."

Madlyn leaned back and grumbled before scratching at a grease burn on her chin. "Well, stang. He really that bent out of shape over that last freighter crash?"

Slick nodded again. "That and the last two."

Kallos shrugged. "I can't help getting shot down. What does he expect running Spice in underpowered freighters with no weapons and practically no shields? I mean," she gestured grandly towards himself, "I'm good, but I'm not that good."

At that Jarek chuckled darkly, "I've seen you make those 720's practically sing and dance."

"And yet I still can't stop a spray of turbo lasers with just my charming smile," she snapped back, pointing out her next observation. "And why is he complaining? I actually saved the Spice on the first two shipments."

Jarek nodded but interrupted just the same. "The profits of which had to go towards buying more spice and repairing the ship."

"Pfft...Cheap hunks of junk, all of them," she waved dismissively before smiling and sighing wistfully. "What I wouldn't give to fly one of those top-of-the-line Corellian freighters, or better yet a classic Naboo star yacht." Closing her eyes Madlyn tilting her head back, "Oh spirits the sweet smuggling music I could make with one of those."

Jarek grumbled at his friends wondering thoughts before looking around at the bounty hunter. "Is the ship really as bad as we left it?"

"No," he sighed and looked down at the counter, "It's worse. Tersen says it's only good for scrap at this point." He placed another hand on Madlyn's shoulder, "I'm sorry Maddy."

The Alderannian just sank her head lower to the table and groaned in frustration. "First I lose my speeder bike, now I'm in debt to a Hutt."

"But you didn't destroy your ship," Slick tried to console her. His gushiness nearly made Jarek gag, "The pirates did."

Jarek sighed and took another drink before correcting her, "It wasn't pirates who shot us up."

"Not pirates?" Slick looked questionably between the two of them, "Then who?"

Madlyn craned her head enough to eye Jarek and with a wave of a finger said, "Go ahead and tell him."

"Later," Jarek assured him, "but for now let's just say we need to get off-world as soon as possible."

Slick looked at him like he was crazy. "You want to try and skip out on Teemo?"

Jarek nodded, "That slug needs to learn it's bad for business to shake down his own crew and Teemo has a bad habit of getting his credits worth one way or another." Jarek looked over at Kallos, waiting for a response only to see her holding up another finger to the bartender. Jarek sighed and looked over at Slick who nodded. Jarek then smacked Kallos...hard snapping her out of his fugue.

"You're the pilot!" Jarek hissed causing his friend to blink in surprise, "If you're drunk then our chances of getting out of this mess are _osik_!" Slick took her remaining drink and downed it himself. Changing the subject to something a little less anarchist, Jarek asked, "So did you find what you were looking for on Ryloth?"

This caused Slick's spine to straighten and he seemed to take a moment to gather himself before speaking. "After a fashion," he placed the empty glass down and when next he looked at them there was an angry look in her eyes, "I went to follow up on a lead on one of Teemo's bounties." He clenched a fist and slammed it on the counter causing them both to jump, "But what I found is that that slime licking Hutt is trying to muscle in on the Ryll mining operations there."

Madlyn shuddered, "The Empire had already strip-mined half the planet. You add the Hutts to that..."

"It's going to get ugly fast," finished Jarek sympathizing with the Pantoran's plight and that of his people. Though he wasn't a Twi'lek, Slick had spent a lot of time amongst them. Enough to develop strong sympathizes for the crappy hand the galaxy had dealt them. Multiple medical companies used Ryll in the manufacturing of certain medicines and thus in very high demand. It was also used to enhance various narcotics but up until that point the Hutts had little interest, preferring the more lucrative spice. It seemed that had changed.

Slick sighed, "The Ryll Corporations are corrupt, but they hire only local workers, and after the Clone Wars they're the only thing holding Ryloth's economy together." He sighed again and after a long silence he asked, "So...What're you going to do about your debt?"

"What are going to do about Teemo and the Ryll Mining Corporations?" Jarek asked.

Slick scowled at him, "Jarek stop redirecting."

Jarek smirked back, "I don't want to hear it. You redirected first. Why should I stop?"

Slick was on the verge of retorting when Madlyn sat up and pushed them apart. "Would you both stop? Drinks now! Slimy Hutt talk later!"

The bartender somehow taking that as his cue to start pouring drinks was directed away by Slick. "No Maddy. Sooner rather than later you're going to have to confront Teemo." He tilted his head and touched his commlink. After a second Slick looked back up them saying, "Sooner it seems. I just got word that Teemo wants you now."

"Well took him long enough," Madlyn snorted before sneaking another drink.

"Well, Slick," Jarek stated flatly, "that about sums it up. I feel that perhaps our employment with Teemo has reached its end. Right?"

He had sensed that Jarek was including him in that statement and replied accordingly, "No, I'm contracted to Teemo by Ryll Corp. I break that contract my sis- _I'm_ as good as dead."

"He's acting against Ryloth's best interests," Jarek argues, "The way I see it that effectively nullifies your agreement to that scum. You could be good as dead if you don't break the contract."

Slick sat still and silent for a moment. When he stands he tosses a few credits on the counter effectively covering their tab. Looking at them both he says in a low tone, "I never saw you. That should buy you another thirty minutes or so." He took a second to look at them both, "Jarek, please keep her alive until I can figure a way out of this mess." The Mandalorian nodded to him. He gave Madlyn the briefest of kisses before leaving.

Jarek couldn't help but smirk at the smuggler's stunned expression before asking, "Well what do you want to do?"

Madlyn blinked and looked back towards the bar. "Eventually...settle out debt with the Hutt, but first," she held up two fingers, "Bartender another round." Jarek dropped his head into his hands and groaned in annoyance.


	2. Chapter 2 Defining Moments

Disclaimer: I do not own star wars or any of its character and while plot points are from various RPG games I take no credit for their origins only of their application in the story therein. This a labor of love and not for profit though if Disney or Lucas Arts would like to hire my creative brain I'd be more than happy to drop everything and come running. Please read and leave a review.

 **Episode 2: Mandalorian Servant**

 **Chapter 2: Defining Moments**

 **Teemo's Palace: Slick's private chamber**

Slick leaned over the data map going over what he had learned so far. There was still so many pieces missing and yet much was already clear. Teemo the Hutt wanted to control Ryll operations on Ryloth and he had an operative on site prepared to make it happen. It wasn't merely for credits either. This was a power play; a small part of a larger scheme. But where did Tersen Aboleth fit in? Teemo had acquired the Lannik technician months ago and had him constantly tinkering with a bunch of old B1 Battle Droids with little success. Then there were mentions of activities on Geonosis.

So many questions and yet very few answers.

Still, the Pantoran had what he needed and quickly sent off the coded message to his contact, maybe his handlers at Ryll Corp would know more.

"You spies and your spy-craft," a female voice chirped behind him. Slick wasn't startled to hear it. He'd known Era Oldessi had been there the entire time. The lithe green skinned black haired Mirialin female sat on a small workbench toying with an Imperial Blaster Pistol she'd acquired. She wore a dark jacket over a white blouse, outdoor trousers, and rugged boots. An ever-present satchel hung across her torso.

"Speaking of," Slick quipped walking over and taking the blaster from her and hefting it, "you been keeping your ears open lately?"

Era and Slick went way back to the point that the bounty hunter trusted the rogue archeologist/explorer with his primary mission in Teemo's palace as a spy. Unlike Slick, Era grew up nurtured by a loving family, far from the reach of the Empire and, in truth, civilization. While Slick's home had been whatever he could put over his head, Era Oldessi's was amongst the ruins and dig-sites of ancient civilizations. Unlike Slick, Era ended up an activist against the pro-Imperial Onderonian government in an effort to stop their destruction of the ancient world.

Era's, however, did not survive her first contact with the enemy. While on a dig outside Onderon's capital, her group was attacked by pro-Imperial forces. Era was the only one to survive, hiding in the rugged hinterlands of the planet.

Her loyalty to the cause gone, Era began selling her skills as a researcher and scout to the highest bidder. While business on Onderon was quite good, Era was eager to leave the planet where she had lost so many of her friends. An opportunity arose when Slick came to Onderon and needed help tracking a bounty through some trap-laden ruins. Era led Slick to his quarry and, in return, the Pantoran gave her a ride to Mos Shuuta on Tatooine.

In its own way, Tatooine had its fair share of ancient mysteries, and Era was able to continue serving as a freelance scout, which helped fund her own private research into the ancient Rakatan Empire and various other pursuits that caught her fancy. During that time she struck up friendships with Slick and Teemo's lead mechanic, a Lannik named Tersen Aboleth. The true danger on Tatooine for Era was the rule of the Hutts and their minions; enough of Oldessi's idealism remained that in service to Teemo she'd discovered the evil that lurked beneath the galaxy.

"I heard what happened," the Mirialin acknowledged taking the blaster back to finish calibrating the sights, "Glad they're still alive." She arched an eyebrow at the Pantoran, "They _are_ still alive right?"

"For now," he confirmed, "Teemo put a bolo out on them."

Era grimaced before hopping off the workbench holstering the blaster. "He must be pretty sore about that lost cargo then."

"And the ship," Slick supplemented, "He's very angry about losing the ship too."

A brief look of fear crossed the archeologists face before hesitantly asking, "...angry enough to...kill them?"

Slick thought for a second before shaking his head. "Not as long as he thinks he can get his credit's worth out of them."

Era grimaced again. "Why would you want to keep working for a slime-ball like Teemo?" It was a fair question seeing as she was freelance and could come and go as she pleased. Slick once again laid out the deal he had with Teemo and the Ryll corporations on Ryloth. A sympathetic look crossed her face when he explained about the Hutt's secret deals to take over the mining firms and the predicament it placed him in. After he finished Era nodded saying, "Sounds like you've already made up your mind."

Perhaps he had. Lowering his head in thought he turned and leaned on the workbench. He'd had time to think on his situation and in truth, Jarek had been right. Teemo's backroom deals effectively nullified their contract. He was free to go home. That just left one small problem...

"I can't leave Maddy like this," he started looking up at Era with conviction in his eyes. No one could ever deny he wasn't loyal to the mouthy Alderannian. Or obsessed depending on one's point of view. ' _The heart wants what the heart want_ s,' he often quoted.

"Or Jarek for that matter," Era added. Though she and the Mandalorian had never officially met the pair knew of one another in passing. Era had even admitted she found the brooding mercenary 'a tad fascinating.'

"You know what I mean." Slick crossed his arms and tapped a nervous finger on his gauntlet. His decision reaffirmed he said, "I plan to leave Tatooine with Jarek and Maddy." He quickly ran down his encounter with the pair earlier in the cantina.

"Wait, you saw them?" she gasped before chuckling darkly, "If Teemo finds out, you're going to have some trouble."

"Not as much as Jarek and Maddy when he finds out they plan on skipping out on their debt." Slick and Era both grimaced at the thought. No being no matter how weak or powerful wanted to die after all. Most would rather it come at the end of a blaster then at the hand of their employer, Teemo the Hutt. The underboss of Jabba the Hutt enjoyed watching his captives fight for their lives in the small gladiatorial arena at the heart of his palace. The gluttonous slug also had a reputation for strangling and sometimes eating his victims whom he deemed as failures to his business.

Slick had never witnessed the second part. He figured it was more rumor than fact. He still wouldn't wish such a fate on anyone. More specifically he had no desire to be one of his victims to prove the tale true. He'd rather be amongst his scantily clad slaves than his main course. Though neither thought had much appeal.

Era placed a hand on Slick's shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. "Whatever you decide, I am with you. I owe you after all." A thought seemed to occur to him and he smiled again, "If there's room I'm sure I can persuade Tersen to come as well."

Slick chuckled as they made their way to the door. "I'm sure he's bored from fixing decrepit droids and beat up freighters anyways. Maybe a change in scenery will cheer him up."

"Alright then," Era mused, "What about-"

Just then the door slid open and a hulking form clad in well used yellow armor over a black and brown body suit barred their way. Gripped in one cybernetic hand was a blaster rifle, also well used. A pair of dark eyes glared down at them beneath the brow of a skull-shaped armored mask causing both beings to shrink back. By the look of him, he'd been standing there for some time.

The Gank growled menacingly as it stepped forward into the room forcing them to step back. Era began reaching for her blaster but stopped at a look from Slick. The Pantoran straightened and swallowed the nervous lump in his throat. "Gare," he greeted trying to sound natural and failing. It hadn't been long ago that he had witnessed this very being rip the arms off a captured Tuskin Raider in Teemo's gladiatorial arena. He was also renowned as one of the Hutt's main enforcers. And he quite possibly overheard their entire dissenting conversation. "What can I do for you this day?" Slick asked trying to appear calm and oblivious to the encroaching danger.

The Gank glared down at the pair of them, his grip tightening on the handle of his blaster. Reaching for the door terminal with his free flesh and blood hand he replied, "We need to talk." With that, he pressed the control. The door hissed shut and the lock engaged.

 **The Whomp Rats Den**

Jarek stood and slid his helmet back on at the same time Kallos downed her final glass which amounted to half a bottle of Tharaxian Brandy. Jarek mused that any other human, himself included would've been passed out on the floor. The Alderannian smuggler, however, looked annoyingly sober, if a little too cheery.

"Time to face the music, my friend," she crowed tossing the Deveronian a hefty tip.

Jarek wasn't sure if this was the best mood to be approaching Teemo with. Equal parts drunk and intolerable. If they had any chance of talking their way out of this mass they'd need tact and sobriety. At the very least so they could have an opportunity to escape. Either way, it was now or never.

"Going somewhere Mandalorian?" came a low growl in huttese.

 _Oh, ancestors preserve me_ , Jarek groaned to himself. Both he and Madlyn turned to see a single Weequay pointing a blaster pistol at them.

"Yes Drana," Madlyn replied holding up a pair of placating hands, "we were just on our way to see the boss."

The Weequay spat to the side and kept the blaster trained on him. "I'm afraid Teemo's patience has run out Kallos. You've messed up for the last time."

This time Jarek spoke up, "Look Drana, we really are on our way to see Teemo. We know he's upset about the lost shipment and we wanted to assure him we had the credits to pay for the damage." It was a lie of course but Drana didn't need to know that. Jarek just wanted to make it out alive at this point. If the Weequay was right and Teemo was fed up with them then talking their way out was no longer an option.

"Is that so?" the Weequay smirked still talking in Huttese, "then maybe you give it to me and I forget I ever saw you."

Madlyn also smirked and shrugged. "C'mon Drana, that's no way to deal. First, we offer payment, then you counter, and then we counter-counter." She expelled an over-exaggerated sigh of exasperation. "Honestly you've no head for deals," she said with an annoyed tone that made Jarek roll his eyes, "I guess that why you'll always be just the Hutt little errand boy."

Drana's face wrinkled in anger and he focused his aim on Madlyn's cocky grin. He yelled a stream of profanities at the smuggler, as his finger tightened on the trigger. That was all Jarek needed. In a flash, he drew his own blaster pistol and fired three shots from the hip. All three bolts slammed into the Weequay's torso leaving large smoldering craters. Drana looked surprised as he crumbled to the floor.

Kallos was just starting to draw her own pistol when in a flurry of huttese a dozen of Teemo's goons swarmed into the cantina, weapons drawn. Jarek was good with a blaster, maybe even one of the best on the planet, but he wasn't going to trick himself into thinking he could defeat twelve armed assailants in a quick draw, even with Madlyn's help.

As much as it galled him, Jarek holstered his weapon and raised his hands. Madlyn did likewise.

"Kriff my luck," Madlyn sighed and Jarek grumbled in agreement.


	3. Chapter 3 Crossroads

Disclaimer: I do not own star wars or any of its character and while plot points are from various RPG games I take no credit for their origins only of their application in the story therein. This a labor of love and not for profit though if Disney or Lucas Arts would like to hire my creative brain I'd be more than happy to drop everything and come running. Please read and leave a review.

 **Episode 2: Mandalorian Servant**

 **Chapter 3: Crossroads**

 **Mos Shuuta; Teemo's Palace**

Disarmed, Jarek and Madlyn were frog-marched into Teemo's Palace. Passing through a fortified gateway there were two narrow rooms positioned one behind the other. Two hulking Gamorrian guards flank the main entrance and a pair of Teemo's henchmen waited in the foremost area. The walls were made of a thick armored material, and they looked able to withstand blaster fire. Heavy pillars supported the arched roof.

Next, they passed through a Reception area. This area was used to keep guests comfortable and entertained while they waited to be admitted into Teemo's throne room. Seeing as they were expected the guards ushered them right on through into the throne room proper.

The throne room was dominated by the gladiatorial arena, set into the center of the room. Its tall, dome-shaped ceiling and stadium-style seating made the room feel extremely spacious, although there wasn't much light. What light there was came primarily from a large and somewhat intimidating chandelier that hung directly over Teemo's throne. An all Bith house band occupied the stage. They were playing dirty Tatooine blues with some virtuoso kloo horn flourishes.

The Hutt's raised throne dais sat above the sunken fighting pit. Surrounding the arena on multiple tiers were tables and chairs for the Hutt's sycophants to cheer on the bloodletting while being served by scantily clad female slaves of varying species. Teemo's debauchery knew no bounds.

The Hutt in question sat atop his throne nursing a massive goblet of some beverage. His one good eye constantly staring as it scanned his surroundings. A menagerie of alien guards, slaves, and hangers-on flanked him. Hutts were judged by their entourage and even as a low ranking Hutt, Teemo's was rather impressive. Jarek had to admit that the Hutts power and influence had been what attracted him to work for the slug. In hindsight that might've been foolishly naive of him.

Jarek and Madlyn were pushed forward until they were right in front of the crime lord. Jarek's helmet protected him from a lot but the smell that came off the slug was something no filter could stop. If the droppings of a rancor had offspring with a Bantha's musk it would be a Hutt's general stench. Madlyn seemed to agree by the way she was valiantly fighting her gag reflex.

Catching sight of them Teemo focused in with his one good eye. "Finally you come before me. I hope I didn't interrupt anything too important."

"Well in fact-" Madlyn began but was cut off by a roar from the Hutt.

"Silence!" Teemo bellowed throwing his massive goblet. Both Madlyn and Jarek ducked as it flew overhead and clattered into the arena where even the fighters became still. "You fail to deliver my spice! You get my ship destroyed! You kill one of my men, and then you had the nerve to go get drunk rather than face me!"

"Oh please!" Madlyn shouted back taking the entire room by surprise. Before Jarek could stop her the Alderanni yelled out, "You think we enjoy working for a slug like you? Plus, here's a bit of food for thought! We...were...shot...down! So how about you get angry at the scum that did the shooting!"

Teemo glared down at her, unimpressed by Kallos' rant; or lack of good sense in Jarek's opinion. "They are not here," he pointed a flabby arm at them, "you are."

This time Jarek spoke up. "That's fine. I think we will just leave then."

This caused the entire room to erupt into laughter, even Teemo was laughing. "Oh, that is rich Mandalorian. So you think you can just leave with a debt to me?"

Jarek drew himself to full height and fixed his gaze on the Hutt who had stopped laughing and was looking at him curiously. He raised a finger and pointed directly at the Hutt. "Kriff you _hutuune_! Kriff you and your debt!"

Everything happened really fast after that. Just he started reaching for a blaster he heard a voice shout a warning before a solid weight connected with the back of his legs. With a yelp of surprise, both he and Madlyn fell forward. A split second later, Jarek saw why. From the crowd, a grenade was tossed up and detonated at eye level. A near invisible sonic wave expanded outward. Nearly every occupant of the room fell to the floor clutching their ears in pain. Only Teemo seemed unaffected.

"Kill them! Kill them!" He shouted.

Jarek felt a hand under his arm and looked up to see Slick hauling him to his feet. "On your feet! We are leaving!" Jarek needed no other encouragement. He certainly wasn't going to question his change of heart. He was up and running toward the exit, Slick, and Madlyn right behind. They paused only long enough to retrieve their weapons from the fallen human thug who'd taken them back at the cantina and were off again. At the main door of the throne room, they met a Mirialin Jarek recognized as Era Oldessi, one of Teemo's scouts and a friend of Slick's.

"Let's go! This way!" she shouted gripping an SE-14r Light blaster pistol.

Jarek smiled at her, though it was impossible to see through his helmet. Another ally increased their odds drastically. His optimism was short lived however when more of Teemo's guards arrived and opened fire. Jarek turned to fire a few shots along with Era. None connected but it discouraged pursuit for a bit longer. The four of them turned in and made for the main door which stood wide open. At its center stood the towering form of a Gank. Jarek was all too familiar with the wall of yellow armor and rage from Teemo's arena.

Gare, Teemo's top enforcer.

Noticing Jarek and Madlyn's hesitance, Slick yelled, "He's is with us!" As if to emphasize this the Gank stepped aside and waved them forward, yelling encouragement. Once more Jarek didn't question it. The ancestors had finally smiled upon him to the point he might actually live to see another sunrise.

The group hurtled through the portal into the heat of Tatooine. Outside Jarek wasn't surprised to see yet another of Teemo's crew working at the door controls. A short light skinned Lannik male with large ears wrapped in a long coat and a bandolier of tools. Jarek had known that many beings were disgruntled with the Hutt, but for so many to openly rebel was a sign that Teemo seriously needed to rethink his management schemes.

"Aboleth now!" Slick called the moment the last of their group crossed the threshold. With a nervous sweat dotting his brow, the technician crossed a handful of circuits and the heavy security door slammed shut. He then proceeded to rip out said circuits.

"Should buy us time to escape," he declared with a relieved smile.

Madlyn attempted to wrap her arms around their saviors in thanks, but Jarek forestalled her. "As glad as I am to be rid of Teemo's company, please tell me you have a plan?"

"Of course," Era announces holding up her blaster as they hurried into the crowded streets of Mos Shuuta.

"Well, what do we do now?" Jarek asked as Slick cradled his own weapon and sidled in next to his girlfriend, each reassured by the other's presence. Jarek noticed Slick nervously biting his lip and avoiding his gaze and Era likewise fiddling with her weapon safety. "You _di'kutla_!" he hissed in anger and shock, "Neither of you has a plan to get out of here, do you!?"

Slick gave him an incredulous look "I'm sorry but the sudden kill order didn't give us a whole lot of time to cover the details."

"How about a backup plan?"

"It's the same as plans B, C, and D," Tersen chimed in for the first time, "rescue you, find a ship, and get the kriff off this rock."

Jarek made to rub his eyes in frustration, but still wearing his helmet he ended up rubbing his visor instead. He mumbled some curses under his breath before speaking again. "Were you hoping to ride this nerf's," he jerked a thumb at Madlyn, "luck all the way off-planet or something?"

Madlyn's smiled that cocky smile and Jarek resisted the urge to use his fist to wipe it off. This day and series of lackluster events were not helping his temper. "Oy, it's worked out so far. Besides," she placed an arm around the Pantoran's waist, "I'm sure the answer will present itself any second now."

The answer was not what any of them wanted. Further up the street a number of Teemo's thugs were working their way through the crowd. The mixed bag of humans and aliens grabbed at peoples cloaks, shoved bystanders around checking I.D.s against data pads. It was obvious they were searching for them. Teemo may have been a lecherous old hump but he wasn't stupid. He maintained a barracks for some of his mercs outside of the palace so in the event of a revolt he could easily summon reinforcements. Such was the case, Jarek knew that at least two dozen of Teemo's finest were scouring the streets for them.

"Quick," Madlyn hissed, "In here."


	4. Chapter 4 Last Call

Disclaimer: I do not own star wars or any of its character and while plot points are from various RPG games I take no credit for their origins only of their application in the story therein. This a labor of love and not for profit though if Disney or Lucas Arts would like to hire my creative brain I'd be more than happy to drop everything and come running. Please read and leave a review.

 **Episode 2: Mandalorian Servant**

 **Chapter 4: Last Call**

'In here' turned out to lead straight back to where this whole misadventure started. "Oh you've got to be kidding me?" both Jarek and Slick said at the same time. Just as before a number of patrons looked around at them upon their arrival only to return to their drinks, food, and entertainment.

They were back at the Whomp Rat's Den.

Madlyn merely shrugged and gestured to the crowded cantina. Her look said it all. 'Hide' Jarek was all for a good stand up fight, and he was sure Gare was as well, but he also believed in picking his battles. The Mandalorian reluctantly nodded and ushered the rest of the group forward. As if waiting on that cue, the team scattered. He and Madlyn slunk into a booth at the side of the room, while Slick slipped backstage. Apparently, a Pantoran dodging behind the curtain was such a normal thing that not even the pair of dancers questioned it.

Gare somehow clambered up to the rafters and balanced himself just above the door preparing to ambush any would-be assailants.

Opting for a better hiding spot Era shoved Tersen behind the bar where the Deveronian bartender began to object before a glare from the woman silenced him. At that moment the door to the cantina opened and rather than jump behind the bar and risk exposure, Era took a seat on a stool and attempted to blend in with the other patrons.

A pair of red skinned Nikto, an Aqualish, and a human thug walked in all armed with stun batons and blaster pistols. They bore Teemo the Hutts insignia on their shoulders and they were on the prowl.

 _Oh, Stang._

Jarek turned back to Madlyn. "So _that_ was your solution to our problem?" He scoffed and leaned back. "Your luck astounds me."

"Ok, ok so maybe not right this moment," Madlyn said not trying to be put out, "but I'm sure a solution will present itself."

"In the form of a blockade runner, I hope," the Mandalorian murmured taking Madlyn's drink. Tilting his helmet back and downing half of it before replacing both. "Look I know some of Teemo's goons keep their ships docked in the landing bays north of here between jobs. We could...borrow one."

"And further anger the Hutt?" Madlyn replied sarcastically, "Great plan."

Jarek glared at her. "It's better than waiting around here hoping one more of your solutions will walk through that door." Madlyn didn't respond. She was too busy keeping an eye on Teemo's hired guns, while simultaneously reaching for her own pistol. Likewise, Jarek could sense the others inching toward their own.

Interestingly enough the eyes of the mercs glided right over them without pause, course Madlyn had ducked down. No, their attention seemed to be drawn to the green-skinned female with the conspicuous jacket and satchel sitting at the bar.

 _Oh, double stang_.

One of the Nikto pointed at her and the remaining three henchmen converged. Jarek watched, curious if Era hadn't noticed that her chances of escape were narrowing drastically. Yet she sat completely still even as the human, Aqualish, and remaining Nikto moved to completely surround him.

The Mandalorian turned towards Madlyn and cocked his helmet in question. Even though she couldn't see his face the smuggler knew what he was thinking.

"You!" the human snapped gesturing with a stun baton at the Mirialin scout, "Lord Teemo would like a word with you."

Era didn't turn but the rigidness of his spine spoke of her fear. "I'm afraid you got the wrong person. I don't know any Teemo." The quiver in her voice was clearly audible from across the room.

"Well he knows you greenie," the human replied laying the baton on the woman's' shoulder as if to prove his authority. "Now come with us."

"I'd rather not." As she spoke Era turned her head to eye the baton. Despite the quiver in her tone Jarek had to admire her courage. Not many in the region would willingly stand up to a Hutt's goons and expect to survive.

The Aqualish chuckled deeply. "I don't see where you have a choice, slag." As if to emphasize those words the human activated the baton. A surge of electric blue energy coursed from the weapon and into the Miralin's body. Era's body seemed to buckle downward as if a solid blow had landed on her shoulder. At the same time, she pitched sideways landing in a heap on the floor groaning in pain.

"W-wait." Oldessi tried to scurry backward but the residual effects of the stun bolt had caused her limbs to cease working properly and she fell back.

"You had your chance to come quietly," the human growled stepping toward the woman. The Nikto also stepped forward with stun baton drawn and active. Era looked around pleadingly but only saw the encroachment of her inevitable fate. "You're going to come with us and then," he gestured again with the stun baton, its end crackling with energy, "You're going to tell us where the rest of your friends are."

The first Nikto had been looking on the entire time with sadistic glee absentmindedly twirling his blaster pistol around his finger. The only move he'd made sense sending the other three goons forwards was step down into the common room and face the bar. He seemed pleased with himself. Probably already counting all the credits the Hutt would pay him for retrieving his prize.

"Excuse me."

So lost was he in his golden haze the Nikto hadn't noticed that a patron had detached himself from one of the far booths and sauntered across the floor towards him. When he turned fully to face the patron he had only a split second to notice the "T" shaped visor before a massive armored fist blocked his vision.

The noise of the Nikto's limp body hitting the floor attracted the attention of the other three hired guns. Upon seeing their leader crumpled on the floor, each of the fighters went for their blasters, but Jarek already had his out and raised. Neither the human, Aqualish and remaining Nikto were aiming their weapons at him but they weren't dropping them either.

"Jarek!" The Aqualish shouted, "What the kriff you think you're doing?"

"Clearly," he growled menacingly in return, "the lady doesn't want to go with you boys," he jerked the barrel of his pistol toward the door, "so how about you go take a walk elsewhere."

By now the entire cantina had gone quiet. The music played but the dancers had stopped and all the patrons had turned to eyeball the exchange. Fights and deaths weren't uncommon in the dives and bars of the Outer Rim but it never ceased to be entertaining.

"You escaped Teemo's palace," the human interjected fingers twitching around the handle of the baton, "we have orders to bring you back."

"All of us?" Slick had walked up and was aiming his rifle.

The second Nikto growled before raising his blaster at Jarek, "You try and skip out on debt, now you kill my brother! Traitors!"

Madlyn arrived, pistol in hand, and eyeballed the first Nikto at Jarek's feet. "To be fair I think your kin is only knocked out. So we're actually only skipping out on the debt."

All three thugs glared at the smuggler. "You rats!" growled the Aqualish, "you scum!"

With so many blasters now in hand discretion began entering into the minds of onlookers. These weren't fighters. Most of them were moisture farmers, merchants, and laborers. All they wanted was a drink and to have a good time. The Twi'lek dancing girls quickly faded behind the curtain, while a majority of the Patrons retreated for the nearest exit. The bartender opted to duck behind his bar next to Tersen.

Jarek rolled his eyes at their bravado before speaking again, "One last chance, _chakaar_. Take your brother and leave or we start redecorating this place with your brain matter." This caused the human and Aqualish to glance nervously at one another but still, they didn't drop their weapons. The Nikto, on the other hand, was not having it.

"Kriff you!" he shouted angrily.

The blaster bolt from Jarek's pistol dropped the Nikto, but not before he got off a single shot that glanced off of the mercenaries left shoulder plate. The human and Aqualish also raised their weapons but Madlyn and Slick took care of them in short order. With all enemies down Jarek holstered the weapon and then removed his helmet. Very rarely did he remove his armor except when he slept, but in this situation, he sensed it warranted a little face time. He walked forward to assist their 'passenger' while the others policed the bodies.

Era was still sitting on the floor rubbing her smarting shoulder. Despite the pain, she still took his offered hand and he helped her to her feet. She swayed slightly and he placed a steadying hand on her shoulder. "Easy. You ok?" he asked.

"I'm okay," he responded still rubbing his shoulder. She cast about for a moment before finding and holstering her dropped blaster. "Was trying not to blow our cover. Took you lot long enough to respond." Jarek only smirked. For the first time since the meeting, Jarek was now close enough to take in the details of the woman's face. Across the bridge of her nose was a swirl of black tattoos indicative of the Mirialin species. Her eyes, a remarkable purple color, blinked in surprise. Possibly at just how human he was. The armor tended to rob the eye of any illusion that the being they were seeing was anything more than a killing machine.

At that moment they heard a voice shout in huttese, "You Slime-ball! You killed my brother!" Before Jarek could turn fully and draw he felt a wave of heat wash over the side of his face. The bolt flew past his head and struck the Nikto leader square in the face causing him to flip backward across an unoccupied table.

Surprised Jarek looked around and saw that Tersen stood clutching a blaster pistol and aiming it where the Nikto had been standing. Jarek stared at him with mild shock; never having seen reflexes quite that fast in a being so...short. Neither had Madlyn or Slick who stared in surprise with weapons barely half raised.

The technician, still evidently in shock from having killed someone, was still staring down the sight of the burning hole in the Nikto's chest till Jarek helped him lower the weapon. "Thank you for that," he said sincerely.

"No problem," he replied managing to keep the quiver out of her voice. At that moment Gare decided to drop down from the ceiling rafters he had been hiding on.

"I miss anything?" he asked.

Madlyn groaned at his late entry. "Asleep for the action, awake for the money it seems." The Gank merely growled at her. It had been evident to Jarek the former gladiator had been covering the door in case the mercs had made a run for it or in the likelihood more bad guys would show up. However, pointing out said observation wouldn't stop Madlyn from being Madlyn.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of slow, deliberate, unamused applause. The Deveronian bartender approached laughing a brittle little laugh. Eyeballing the carnage of the brief firefight he asks in his heavily accented tone, "I take it you folks need to get off-world in a hurry?"

Jarek looked around. Tersen was coming out of his hiding spot, while Era and Gare assisted Madlyn and Slick in search the bodies for anything valuable. No sense in letting their "sacrifice" go to waste. None of them had escaped the palace with more than what they carried.

"You could say that."

"Good news for you then," he went on crossing his arms, "I know of a freighter that you may or may not be able to use to facilitate your escape."

Era stood clutching a stun baton loosely in one hand, "Something tells me this information isn't free."

This was true. Nothing came for free, especially in the Outer Rim.

The Deveronian glared at her but still managed a smile. "Having six wanted felons in town, and more specifically in my bar, is bad for business. You are correct. Nothing is free on the rim." Slick shrugged and placed the baton and blaster pistol of the dead human on the counter. At a raised eyebrow from the bartender, Jarek nodded towards the others. Grumbling, Madlyn, and Gare placed the other pistols and batons on the counter as well. The bartender's expression changed to one of actual cheerfulness. "The ship you need will be in Landing Bay Aurik for some time, but that's due to its hypermatter reactor igniter needing to be replaced."

"So she's grounded," Madlyn groaned, "what good is a grounded ship?"

"Igniters are a dime a dozen," Tersen pointed out.

"Yeah but when you don't have one it's nearly impossible to even crank up a hyperdrive, much less make a jump," Madlyn explained. She looked directly at the bartender, "And I bet you know where to get one."

The Deveronian smirked smugly. "As it happens I know exactly where to get one in excellent condition and retrofitted perfectly for the freighter," Gare growled menacingly causing the Deveronian's smile to slip and gulp nervously. "Uh...Vorn...Vorn over at the junk shop has one."

"And the catch?" Jarek asked knowing full well there was more to the story. No one leaves a whole ship just laying around. Not in Mos Shuuta.

The bartender gulped again and held up his hands in a placating gesture. "The ship belongs to a Trandoshian named Trex," Jarek and Slick exchanged leery glances as they recognized the name. "He is an associate of the Hutts and won't just give you a ride for free."

"Because nothing in the Dim is free," Era grumbled obviously not caring for the sleazy Deveronian in the slightest.

"Now if you don't mind," the bartender's smile slipped completely and he pointed at the door, "Get out of my bar!"


	5. Chapter 5 Bargan Deal

Disclaimer: I do not own star wars or any of its character and while plot points are from various RPG games I take no credit for their origins only of their application in the story therein. This a labor of love and not for profit though if Disney or Lucas Arts would like to hire my creative brain I'd be more than happy to drop everything and come running. Please read and leave a review.

 **Episode 2: Mandalorian Servant**

 **Chapter 5: Bargain Deal**

As soon as they were outside the cantina, the group immediately took cover in a nearby secluded alleyway.

"Vorn's shop is the next street over," Jarek explained gesturing, "but the entrance faces the market."

"We'll have to move quickly," Era pointed further down the alley, "we can cut through here with minimal exposure."

"Teemo will have more trigger-pullers looking for us," Slick said inspecting his rifle and inserting a new powerpack.

"Especially once the cantina owner sells us out," Tersen put in grimly. No one argued against the possibility. This was after all Tatooine.

Slick glanced at the Lannik and asked, "You've had dealings with Vorn before right?"

Tersen blinked a little in surprise wondering how he could know that but answered regardless, "Yes, but never directly. He's not one to part with items cheaply." He checked some interesting devices on each of his gauntlets, "When I did deal with him...well...he's not the friendliest of sorts."

All Jarek knew of the Lannik was that when his skills came to the attention of Teemo, Tersen was offered an impressive sum of credits to make his skills available at the Hutt's Mos Shuuta complex. After her arrival in Mos Shuuta, Aboleth immediately regretted his decision. Given they all had reasons to hate Teemo, Jarek wasn't at all surprised that given the opportunity to run he took it.

Slick twitched nervously. "Is there a chance he might report us to Teemo?"

Madlyn smirked at him. "Oh without a doubt, love. But not until he is sure he can't make a few credits off of us."

Gare hefted his blaster. "He could be...persuaded to keep silent."

Jarek wasn't sure the circumstances surrounding Gare's capture. The Gank had been in the Hutt's service long before Jarek ever set foot on Tatooine. He'd heard rumors that it was Zygarrians who caught him and deposited him into their fighting pits.

The Gank's skill eventually saw him bought by Teemo who then sent him to fight the gladiators of his rivals in order to establish his dominance. Jarek had also seen him in the role of enforcer and bodyguard lending credence to his earlier skepticism. Jarek wasn't entirely sure of the Gank's motivations, and since he wore that mask he couldn't gauge his facial expressions. In short, he wasn't sure he could trust the mercenary outside of his own need of self-preservation.

"No," Jarek stated, "we will not kill any more sentients than we have to." He squared up to the Gank making direct eye contact. "That's not how _we_ do things." Despite weighing half as much as the gladiator and a half head shorter, Jarek still managed to cut an imposing figure. In the end, Gare nodded and looked away.

"Agreed," Tersen chimed in seemingly relieved at the notion, "Wanton death will only warrant us a bounty and execution." The rest of the group made various signs of agreement. Tersen continued, "Vorn is a surly sort, but he can be negotiated with."

Jarek looked around at the group, beneath his helmet was a critical gaze. He was forced to admit he barely knew any of them. Of the group, he only knew Madlyn and Slick in any great detail, and they still had plenty of secrets. Jarek was no exception. If he had done as he'd been taught he would've dusted his hands of the group and the planet ages ago. He could've cleared the settlement and disappeared into the desert in a matter of minutes, but he couldn't then and wouldn't know. Jarek just couldn't bring himself to leave Madlyn, his only real friend, in a lurch. Now that Slick, Era, Tersen, and Gare had given up everything to rescue them, he felt a certain obligation to them as well. At the very least he had to get the six of them off world. After that...who knew? Like it as not they were all stuck together for the foreseeable future.

First thing's first.

"Vorn's shop. Anyone got anything better?" A few headshakes but otherwise the group was silent except for moving to stand and heft there gear. "Alright, let's get us a hypermatter reactor igniter."

 **Vorn's Junk Shop**

The shop was obvious by the large scrap yard adjoining the low pourostone building. As they stepped inside, fortunately without attracting too much attention, they saw a hunched old human male lurking behind a short countertop that looked as if it had served as the bridge console for a Corvette at some point. The counter was littered with droid parts in various stages of dismemberment. Half-finished-disassembly seemed to be the operative term for just about everything in the shop.

The man behind the counter had to be the illustrious Vorn. His cratered skin fit him well with his less them welcoming expression, as did the mane of grey hair matted in engine grease. He glanced up at them, then turns to a garbage-can shaped R5 droid standing at his side. He kicked the droid, earning a glare from Tersen, and shrieks, "You're supposed to tell me when I have customers you bucket of scrap!" The droid chirped and whistled angrily blowing raspberries at the man. Vorn pointed out the back door and ordered, "Just go outside and finish stripping that speeder-bike wreck." The droid turned, extended its third leg and rolled out with a surely 'bluuurrrrp!' Jarek didn't need to be fluent in Binary to know a "kriff off" when he heard one.

Shaking his head angrily the man turned to the group and attempted to smile and greet them warmly. "Welcome my friends! As you can tell," he said gesturing around at all of the racks, shelves, and a few enormous containers, "I have anything you could possibly want. Just ask and it's yours...er...for the right price of course."

"You were pretty mean to that droid," Tersen stated flatly, clearly the Lannik disapproved of the ill-treatment of droids.

Vorn waved a dismissive hand at the door the R5 had just left through. "That droid is a lazy good for nothing. It hates me almost as much as I hate it, but we're stuck with each other." Tersen glared at him once more before wandering off in the general direction of the R5 unit.

"I understand you deal in ship parts?" Madlyn queried offering a charming smile. Her accent even took on a 'sweeter' tone.

Vorn nodded and smiled smugly, "I do indeed, my dear. What exactly are you looking for? I've got some shield generators in pretty decent shape if you're interested."

"Actually," Madlyn interjected leaning forward and propping an elbow on the counter, "I'm more interested in a hyper matter reactor igniter."

Vorn actually had the nerve to look thoughtful for a second before answering. "I think I could have...one."

"Could we buy it from you?" Madlyn asked practically batting her eyelids.

The old man gave her a lecherous look. "For you my dear I'd sell life and limb, but no."

"No?" she questioned arching an eyebrow, pouting a bit.

"I only have the one," he shrugged sighing in disappointment, "and it's already going to a scary character named Trex and his ship."

Jarek eyed him, allowing his emotionless visor to convey his point. "That name supposed to scare us?"

Vorn glanced about nervously as if he expected the bounty hunter to materialize out from behind one of the many racks of parts. "It should. Trex is a nasty Trandosian bounty hunter, but he doubles as a hired gunmen for Teemo the Hutt." At a nod from Jarek to continue he added, "He stops over in Mos Shuuta a few times a year. His ship, the Krayt Fang, is a beat-up old Corellian YT-1000." Madlyn perked up at the ship-type and Jarek could see the gears working in her head. "It's a fine ship," the old man added, "If he can ever keep it running."

"Just needs a mechanic with half a brain," Madlyn muttered to herself. At Vorn's questioning look she quickly said, "No offense. Why's he need the part?"

"I don't ask I just acquire and sell."

"What if we offered you more then what Trex is paying?" Era asked politely. Vorn eyeballed the Mirialin from head to toe. It seemed he was mentally considering an alternative form of payment. Jarek was about to make him rethink that, but he seemed to come to that conclusion on his own when he noted their various blasters.

He stood up straighter and shook his head, "No, Tex'll skin me alive if I give up that part." Vorn shivered slightly at the thought. "I really don't want to be on a Trandosian's bad side."

"Been there. It bleeds just like the rest of them," Gare growled and by the look on the shop owner's face he wasn't entirely sure what to make of the comment.

Madlyn leaned forward on the counter, regaining Vorn's attention as she jutted her chest out, and all but batted her eyes and pouted her lips at him when she spoke. "Wouldn't you rather sell us the part than to Trex, seeing as we are so much more likable and he's such a bad man?"

Madlyn Kallos may have been rougher around the edges than the typical female of her species, but she was by no means unattractive. As a smuggler, she knew how to use her natural comeliness to her advantage. However whatever lust the old shop owner might've otherwise had for her seemed to be outweighed by his fear of Trex and by extension his boss.

"Oh for kriff's sake," Slick snapped taking everyone by surprise. Possibly because of his hesitation, but more likely because of the smuggler's cheap ploy, Slick's patience seemed to have reached its limit. Before Jarek could stop him the Pantoran strode forward elbowing past Madlyn. He grabbed two handfuls of Vorn's tunic and pulled him up to eye level. Madlyn and Era both tried to intervene but Slick wasn't having it. The Pantoran rarely lost his temper, but Jarek knew that when it came to Kallos he could have one jealous rage. "Either sell us the part!" He ordered. In a flash, his other hand came up clutching a small knife. The Old man squeaked and blubbered in panic at the touch of cold steel to his skin. "Or I'll-" he began to say as he pressed the edge of the blade to his throat.

"Okay! We can take a hint!" came Tersen's voice and he wrapped an arm around Slick's waist, simultaneously Madlyn eased his grip on the man's shirt. The Lannik gave them all a hard signaling look. " _We_ don't want _any_ trouble," he said over exaggerating certain words, "We'll just have to _find_ another way to fix _our_ ship."

"...yes..." Jarek added, slowly picking up on the hint.

"We'll be on our way then," Madlyn nodded also privy to the subtle change in dynamics and nudged a reluctant Gare ahead of her.

"But what about the part?" Slick asked bewildered and obviously still angry at the old swindler, "Without that part, we have no way off this-"

" _Later_ Slick. We'll figure something out," Jarek growled shoving the clueless Pantoran back towards the door. "Thank you for your time," he called back to the old man.

Vorn was still half in shock from being manhandled by the blue-skinned hunter but was quickly converting to outraged. Possibly for also having his time wasted. "Good luck," he yelled after them, "I'm the only shop in Mos Shuuta who carries that kind of part and its price just doubled!"

"So much for being reasoned with," Madlyn murmured once they'd made it outside and into another secluded alleyway. She abruptly turned on Slick. "What the kriff was that about?" she demanded.

Slick squared right back up to the Alderanni. Despite being the shorter of the pair Madlyn didn't back down. "That disgusting old dewback wasn't ever going to sell it to us. So _I_ was going to convince him."

"How? By scalping him?" Madlyn shot back causing Slick to ball his fists.

The Pantoran closed in almost nose to nose with the human female. "I'll not have you parade yourself like some piece of meat!" He snapped back, "No part is worth that!"

"It's called a negotiation Slick!" she retorted.

"Gentle-beings!" Tersen called out drawing their attention away from one another. Gare seemed disappointed and Jarek was too...a little. "Gentle-beings, calm. All is well. See?" With no small amount of flair, the young technician revealed the hypermatter reactor igniter. It was smaller than Jarek would've thought. Easily concealable. Almost instantly Slick and Madlyn forgot what they were even arguing about, too shocked for words. At all of their puzzled and surprised expressions he explained, "While the rest of you were playing sabacc with Vorn, I convinced that old R5 unit to take it for us. The droid is afflicted with the bad attitude of its model and obviously hated its master so he was happy to steal the igniter for us."

Era and Jarek chuckled in amusement while both Madlyn and Slick smiled, argument forgotten. Gare shared their joy and patted Tersen on the shoulder. "We'll make a decent criminal out of you yet."

Tersen smiled, uncertain if the Gank had just given him a compliment or not. He placed the ship part into his tool satchel before speaking. "Now we just need to get to the docking bay and-"

Jarek shook his head, "Negative. First, we have to go to the Air Traffic Control Center."

"Wait...what?" Tersen questioned.

"Wasn't that the whole point of us getting the part? Repair a ship and leave?" Gare groaned and growled looking a bit rebellious. "Why go to the Control Center?"

Jarek waved a hand in a soothing gesture and the group fell silent. "Teemo isn't stupid, and he's very resourceful. The moment after we shot our way out of his palace he would've locked down every ship in town to keep us here." He pointed in the general direction of the Air Traffic Control. "The ATCC building controls all the docking clamps. We'll need to release them, else we're not going anywhere."


	6. Chapter 6 Flattery

Disclaimer: I do not own star wars or any of its character and while plot points are from various RPG games I take no credit for their origins only of their application in the story therein. This a labor of love and not for profit though if Disney or Lucas Arts would like to hire my creative brain I'd be more than happy to drop everything and come running. Please read and leave a review.

 **Episode 2: Mandalorian Servant**

 **Chapter 6: Flattery**

 **Air Traffic Control Center**

The Spaceport control facility was a low squat building clinging to the edge of the Mos Shuuta bluff. The front entrance stood open, but a pair of armed security droids stand at attention. If the group has any hope of getting off of Tatooine, they'd need to disable the docking clamps holding the _Krayt Fang_ in its landing bay, and they could only do that from inside the spaceport control center.

While Slick, Era, and Tersen distracted the guards up front, Gare, Madlyn, and Jarek make their way around to a side entrance. The Mandalorian signaled for the Gank to stand watch while he and Madlyn infiltrated. The first room was a meeting area of sorts for the building executives. A large rectangular table surrounded by chairs occupied the center of the room, and there was only one other access.

After making sure the coast was clear, they stepped through the other doorway into a large chamber, crowded with computer equipment and centered on a large holo-display showing a plot of the local aerospace. Standing in front of the display with his arms clasped behind his back was a human male in a blue uniform. He appeared to be in charge and, as they watched, he spoke into a headset in a formal, commanding tone, "Imperial Shuttle Lambda-11283, this is overseer Brynn with spaceport control. You are cleared to land. Welcome to Mos Shuuta."

A half dozen technicians of different species worked at consoles and two additional security droids stood near the doorway. Their attentions were focused on the floor-to-ceiling transparisteel windows against the far wall, where a large Imperial Shuttle was on approach for a landing.

 _"Oh, Stang!"_ Jarek thought in mild panic, _"Imperials! This day just keeps getting better."_

Optimistically he thought they may not have been there for them. Realistically he knew the timing wasn't coincidental.Teemo had to have called them in. He _must've_ felt desperate enough to risk Imperial entanglement. Mos Shuuta didn't have an Imperial presence, nor had it ever needed one being such a small backwater spaceport on an equally backwater planet.

The situation was about to go from bad to worse if they didn't hurry.

At a signal from Madlyn, Jarek angled away towards an unoccupied computer panel. Making sure he wasn't drawing too much attention he inserted a data spike, courtesy of Tersen, into the terminal and then set about scrolling through the data. Hopefully to any casual observer he'd look just like any other bystander checking on a flight itinerary. Madlyn's part in this operation was going to be a lot more interesting.

"Hello Overseer Brynn," Madlyn greeted with a charming smile as she practically sashayed up to the lead officer, "It's nice to finally meet you in person."

Brynn turned arching an annoyed eyebrow at her but otherwise remained stoic. "Captain...Madlyn Kallos is it. Finally, a face to put to that annoying mouth."

"Awww you remember me?" the Alderanni asked cheerfully.

"Hard to forget such an irritating, cocksure, and headstrong attitude," he snapped back. The two had a history of sorts. Being the towns head air traffic controller, Brynn oversaw the flight plans of every ship coming and going in Mos Shuuta airspace. He was a man of order and precision as indicated by his clean crisp uniform and the efficiency by which he ran his facility. So naturally every time he comm'd Madlyn on one of her runs she constantly bantered with him or ignored him entirely.

"Flattery will get you far in my book," Madlyn responded raising her own eyebrow. Jarek rolled his eyes but continued focusing on the screen working through the command codes. What he wouldn't give for an astromech droid right then.

"Not in mine it won't," Brynn remarked sharply, his hands tightening behind her back.

"Mmmm," Madlyn hummed pleasantly, "Such a strong commanding voice if I ever heard one. You must be a good public speaker." Was it Jarek's imagination or did the overseer just blush a little?

Brynn cleared his throat before asking in a mild accusatory tone, "What do you want Ms. Kallos?"

"I've heard your voice over my comms for nearly half a cycle now." In addition to puffing up her chest the smuggler spread her hands and in a peaceful gesture. "Need I a reason to satisfy my curiosity?

The corner of Brynn's mouth quirked a bit but he quickly composed herself. "A vid-comm would've sufficed. Yet you're here in person which means you must want something. With all this flattery it must be important."

"You wound me, Overseer," Madlyn replied placing a hand to her chest and frowning, "To think I came here with an ulterior motive."

"What do you want, Ms. Kallos," He asked attempting to suppress his smile, "Specifically."

Madlyn's mock frown reversed back into a smile and she shrugged, "Well as long as we're talking specifics, could you tell me why the spaceport is on lockdown?"

"Criminal activity in the area," he responded curtly.

Madlyn arched her eyebrow again. "I find that answer to be a little...vague."

Brynn sighed becoming weary of the conversation. Jarek only had a few more lines of code and willed Madlyn to distract him a little longer. It didn't seem like it would be a difficult task. The smuggler looked as if she were enjoying herself. "A group of insurgents shot up a local national's residence and then a nearby cantina. The whole city has been placed on lockdown to prevent their escape."

"Seems..." Madlyn opinionated, "A tad bit excessive land-locking all spacecraft. Could you make an exception...for me?" Jarek bit his lip trying not to laugh. Madlyn even had the gall to pout just as she had done at Vorn's. Slick would be having a fit if he saw her right then. "I have a shipment of supplies due in Mos Eisley and I need the credits for an early delivery."

Brynn seemed thoughtful for a moment before he shook his head crisply. One of his aides walked up to deliver a message and he briefly turned his attention back to the display. About that time Jarek walked up to Madlyn and tapped her shoulder.

"We're good to go."

Madlyn smiled and straightened her coat. "Well Overseer Brynn, thank you for taking the time to speak with me." He looked at him from the holo-display with a considering gaze. "I only wish that it had been under better circumstances."

To Jarek's surprise, the man actually smiled. "Well Ms. Kallos, for a mouthy pilot, you're actually quite...engaging."

Madlyn returned his smile and executed an elegant bow. "And with that smile, you have met all my expectations." With that, she turned and caught up with Jarek as they headed for the door. "He looking?"

Jarek surreptitiously checked there six. "Surprisingly...yes." Madlyn smiled smugly. "Don't get a big head. We still need to get to the ship."

Like clockwork, the group regrouped in yet another secluded ally. As their first clandestine operation as a team, they had all performed perfectly. Their smiles grew wide when Jarek told them the ship was free. Madlyn was proud of her accomplishment of thawing the rather icy heart of Overseer Brynn. That was until Slick gave her a hard glare. Her mouth abruptly closed and she curled up to the Pantoran planting a kiss on his cheek.

"You know I've only eyes for you love," she cooed and once again Jarek had to keep himself from gagging.

Gare gave voice to his bile. "Your Spirit annoys me," Madlyn replied by sticking tongue out at him.

"We need to move quickly," Tersen declared getting their attention. "Won't be long before they discover the clamps were removed and attempt to fix the problem."

"We have another problem," Jarek added and the group looked at him, "Teemo called for reinforcements."

Gare growled, which was the equivalent of a Gank snort of laughter. "Teemo's grunts are of little concern. Ill-trained and lacking courage. Easy prey."

"They're not hired guns," Jarek stated, "They're _Imperial_ reinforcements." There was a collective groan from the group. "A single Lambada shuttle landed while we were inside." It was bad enough they were on the run from the Hutts, but to run afoul of the Empire? That was a whole new level of bad. A shuttle of that size and class typically carried a full platoon of stormtroopers. Sixty trigger pullers.

"I knew Teemo had contacts within the garrison," Slick mumbled rubbing his temple in despair. "I thought it was just so he could clear his smuggled goods. I didn't know that included security assets as well."

Era clutched her blaster and glanced nervously around the corner. While everyone else appeared more annoyed with the turn of events the Mirialin seemed genuinely fearful. "Day just keeps getting better and better." The earlier elation was gone from the group and desperation was starting to take hold.

"Look the plan hasn't changed," Jarek declared and gestured to Era. "Landing Bay Aurek. Where is it?"

The Mirialin took a second to compose herself and another to gain her bearings. She looked about a bit before pointing over the roofs of the buildings. He followed her finger and saw a large water tower rising above the settlement. "It's just two blocks away on the other side the reservoir."

"Good, we can still make it," the Mandalorian stated trying his best to sound confident.

Madlyn smiled and twirled her pistol merrily. "Look on the bright side. The Imperials don't even know where we are."

"You there! Halt!" commanded a voice.

The group froze and looked around and saw three white armored figures standing just up the alleyway, blasters trained on them. At the same time another three approached from the opposite side, weapons raised.

"Stang on your luck, Kallos!" hissed Tersen glancing nervously from one group of troopers to the other.


	7. Chapter 7 Krayt Fang

Disclaimer: I do not own star wars or any of its character and while plot points are from various RPG games I take no credit for their origins only of their application in the story therein. This a labor of love and not for profit though if Disney or Lucas Arts would like to hire my creative brain I'd be more than happy to drop everything and come running. Please read and leave a review.

 **Episode 2: Mandalorian Servant**

 **Chapter 7: Krayt Fang**

"You there! Halt!" commanded a voice.

The group froze and looked around and saw three white armored figures standing just up the alleyway, blasters trained on them. At the same time another three approached from the opposite side, weapons raised.

"Stang on your luck, Kallos!" hissed Tersen glancing nervously from one group of troopers to the other.

Jarek had already drawn both his pistols and had them zeroed in on the first group along with Era. Madlyn and Slick had also leveled their weapons at the second. Tersen was indecisive and Gare...well Jarek couldn't see what the Gank was doing, but whatever it was, he hoped it was useful.

"What seems to be the problem officer?" Madlyn asked sounding as cheerful as if she were discussing the weather.

"Drop your weapons and put your hands in the air!" the Stormtrooper ordered his emotionless visor causing Jarek to gulp nervously. A straight up gunfight was one thing, but getting caught in a crossfire was not an ideal situation to be in. Especially when they were under a time crunch.

"Listen, officers," Madlyn went on completely unfazed. "Can't we talk about this? I'm sure there's a logical explanation for-"

Suddenly a large crate flew over Jarek's head. There were shouts of alarm and pain as it bowled over all three troopers. In a spectacular fashion, Gare had revealed what he had been preoccupied with. Acting on reflex the Mandalorian turned and fired at the other three troopers at the same time as Madlyn and Slick. The second group of Imperials ducked for cover and returned fire.

"Move!" Jarek ordered and the group sprinted down the alley hurtling over the three unconscious soldiers. One of them stirred and was reaching for his weapon when Tersen kicked the side of his helmet as he passed by.

They exited the ally and entered the market only to nearly run headlong into yet another group of startled stormtroopers. The group bolted down an ally. Ahead of Jarek, Madlyn decided the sun-drenched alley was too exposed and dove into a Shadowy archway.

"Come...argh!" The Alderanni groaned, suddenly reappearing as she bounced off something hard, landing on her back in the sandy street. "Didn't see the door. Too dark," she cursed. Gare hauled her back onto her feet and they were off again.

Their twisting path through Mos Shuuta's always blocked the stormtroopers from view. Jarek momentarily panicked as a trio of humanoids sprinted around a corner, but quickly realized it was only Slick, Era, and Tersen. They must've gotten separated in the chaos.

Stun bolts buzzed by the Pantoran's head as they turned the corner. The Troopers were much too close for comfort. They ran harder. At least the stun bolts indicated they wanted them alive...for now.

"How'd they find us so fast?" Jarek yelled, not to anyone in particular.

"A Gank, Pantoran, Lannik, Mirialin, and a Mandalorian?" Era retorted as she returned fire over her shoulder. "We're not exactly hard to miss."

Jarek would've snapped back but he couldn't deny the logic. Instead, he focused on losing their pursuers while also trying to lead them back around to the Landing Bay. At that point, the only way they'd even survive, much less escape, was in the Krayt Fang. All that stood between them and freedom was an unknown number of Teemo's goons, Imperials, and Trex himself.

"Why can't anything be easy?" Jarek mumbled.

Gare snorted in agreement. The Gank sighted his scope calmly, oblivious to the chaos around them. Acrid smoke from the blaster impacts on the wall either side of the group stank of burning metal.

"These guys are dead-set on making sure we miss our flight, aren't they?" Madlyn asked no one in particular. Peeking back around the edge of the corner the small female smuggler quickly pulled her head back as another round of bolts rang out.

Gently squeezing the trigger, Gare let a blast fly. The shot hit dead-on, dropping an unfortunate stormtrooper who had stepped out from cover to take a shot. The Gank chuckled, a grating digitized sound that made Jarek's skin crawl.

Slowly the sound of the air recyclers, the transports passing overhead, and the usual hustle and bustle of the town replaced the shriek of blaster fire that had filled the street moments earlier.

They slowed briefly to catch their breath and figure out a route, but the respite was short lived. A barrage of stun bolts announced the troopers' reacquisition of their targets.

Tersen pointed up towards a large structure that dwarfed the buildings around them. "There's the bay!"

"Go left!" ordered Era. A throng of people clogged the cramped outdoor market ahead. Era led them down a parallel street. They emerged near a cliff face-not unexpected, given that Mos Shuuta covered the top of a small mesa. They turned right, expecting to run between the buildings and the cliff edge, but a towering, teetering stack of old crates and junk blocked the way.

"Wonderful," groaned Slick. The troopers would be there in moments.

Jarek pointed out a path. "Come on, we'll skirt around the outside."

"Just watch your step and no pushing," Madlyn murmured casting nervous glances back the way they came.

Holstering his weapons Jarek turned sideways, as there was just enough of a ledge to get around the junk. He tried to touch the pile as little as possible. Tersen was right behind the Mandalorian when his foot slipped. The Lannik flailed his arms and grabbed the nearest stable thing to save himself-Jarek. He seized the technician's hand but her momentum yanked them both towards the edge. Jarek clutched the pipe he'd been using to balance himself, but it started to slip free. The edge under Tersen's feet crumbled and suddenly Jarek was holding them both, dangling by one arm from the pipe. The pipe finally caught on something and held, but both it and his arm threatened to come loose at any moment.

Then, Tersen went limp. Unconscious. Jarek began to curse the Lannik all the way back to Anchorhead when a stun bolt glanced off the pile nearby. He'd forgotten about the stormtroopers. They must've hit Tersen. He looked back and saw Slick and Gare halfway up the pile, returning fire from behind a smashed crate. Madlyn and Era scrambled fearlessly across the ledge towards them. The Mirialin grabbed the young technician by the arm and hauled her up at the same time Madlyn pulled Jarek up. He'd never been so happy to have his feet on solid ground again.

With the stunned Lannik over Era's shoulder, the four of them made their way to safety behind some junk.

The pile lurched as Slick and Gare jumped down to join them, having taken the high road over the top. Era jammed some kind of stimulant into Tersen's shoulder. The Lannik began to revive, but not quickly enough.

Jarek peeked around the corner and saw the stormtroopers walking nimbly along the edge. Inspiration struck. "Everyone!" he yelled to the group. "PUSH!" He lowered his shoulder and they all slammed into the pile. A dozen random containers tumbled down on the troopers just before the whole stack lurched and slid off the cliff-side in an avalanche of scrap. Jarek didn't wait around to see whether or not the Imperials went over with it.

Gare's voice hissed out. "We shouldn't linger. The way appears to be clear." Collecting Tersen they ran. The detour had bought them some time, but not much. They had to leave and leave soon. Skulking from building to building, the group pressed ahead, weapons at the ready. Overturned trash bins, old billboards, and other refuse filled the back allies but no sign of more attackers.

A large pourostone hanger loomed before them, an enormous letter Aurek stenciled onto the side of the building. As they approached, Jarek could see through the door's viewport into the cavernous interior, where a rusty-looking light freighter rested with its loading ramp deployed. The craft was disk-shaped, with its cockpit sitting front and center between a pair of cargo loading maniples. Its color scheme of equal parts red and rust seemed to visibly crack and fade in the bright sunlight that streamed in through the landing bays open top. That was their salvation; the _Krayt Fang_.

Distressingly a pair of security droids flanked the ramp. While another pair stood near a stack of supplies along with a tough looking Trandosian. Trex, he presumed. The lizard seemed to be checking his manifest while he waited for the part his ship needed. Jarek was more than happy to deliver it.

A mostly revived Tersen managed to defeat the landing bay's security in moments. The group rushed in and the Trandosian visibly startled. "What the Kriff are you-"

Madlyn cut him off. "Just delivering you your new hypermatter reactor igniter, sir. Courtesy of Vorn."

Trex looked bewildered as the group wandered by towards the ramp of his ship. "I didn't know Vorn had the part ready." He pointed a claw at the group. "Who are they?"

"Uh...technicians, mechanics, and laborers too...help install the part," Madlyn ground out doing her best to sound convincing.

The bounty hunter growled at the sight of Gare and the Gank growled back. His clawed hand inched towards his blaster, "I doubt that furball would know which end of the igniter to hold, much less install one."

"That's...why he's just a laborer," Madlyn pressed on stepping between Trex and the others as they slowly edged towards the ramp. "You know. Strong back...simple mind." Trex just glared down at her. His shock was starting to wear off and be replaced by well-warranted skepticism. As far as cons went this was not Madlyn's best work.

He brought up his blaster rifle and the group came to a halt. His security droids followed their master's example raising their own weapons. Madlyn raised her hands and stepped back with a groan as Trex nudged her with the barrel. "Seems I heard about a group of runaways trying to escape Teemo's palace." He hissed evilly moving his aim from one member of the group to another, the droids doing likewise. "Now you wouldn't be them would you?"

This time Jarek spoke up, hands raised. "Even if we were. I think you might have other problems to deal with."

"Like what?" Trex asked with a growl.

"Clearing customs," and he pointed over towards the bay door where a half-dozen stormtroopers were swarming in, DC-13s raised. Imperials weren't big on distinguishing between friend and foe, focusing more on generalizing a situation and sorting it out later. This scenario was no different. Plus seeing as Jarek and company had just led them on a merry chase through Mos Shuuta, inflicting casualties upon their ranks, the troopers were probably not in a forgiving mood.

"Stop that ship!" one of them shorted, "Blast them!"

Chaos ensued. The group ducked and sprinted for the ramp. Just as the security droids and Trex turned and opened fire on the Imperials. The stormtroopers shot at everything that moved.

Jarek and Era arrived at the ramp first. They turned as one and provided covering fire while the others ran aboard. Madlyn and Slick entered and ran for the cockpit, while Tersen dragged Gare towards the engine room.

Jarek dropped a pair of stormtroopers and a security droid before he heard the beautiful sound of the engines spooling up.

Madlyn's voice came over his helmets commlink. "Get aboard or get left!"

Jarek gestured to Era who nodded. She turned a followed him up the ramp. Jarek was about to hit the ramp controls when a startled yelp from behind forced him to turn. Time seemed to slow. He saw Era at the edge of the ramp, right behind her with an arm tightening around her throat was Trex. His blaster was up and aimed directly at Jarek. The ship was lifting off, already they were several feet in the air. His heart hammered wildly in his chest.

Jarek didn't think. He just reacted.


	8. Chapter 8 Hasty Departure

Disclaimer: I do not own star wars or any of its character and while plot points are from various RPG games I take no credit for their origins only of their application in the story therein. This a labor of love and not for profit though if Disney or Lucas Arts would like to hire my creative brain I'd be more than happy to drop everything and come running. Please read and leave a review.

 **Episode 2: Mandalorian Servant**

 **Chapter 8: Hasty Departure**

Trex pulled the trigger. The blaster spat blue death. The bolt shot straight at Jarek's head. The Mandalorian twisted sideways, while simultaneously bringing his pistol up. The bolt hissed right by his left ear, so close he could feel the heat even through his helmet. Jarek pulled his own trigger. The shot rang out, faster than Trex's. The Trandosian's head snapped back. Where his left eye had been was now a black cauterizing hole.

The Bounty Hunter's grip loosen and Era leaped forward to stand next to Jarek. Slowly, very slowly, the Trandosian fell backward and out of sight to the hanger below.

Jarek lowered his weapon and looked over at the Mirialin who was positively shaking. Out of either fright or shock, he couldn't tell. "You okay?" he asked.

The sound of his voice seemed to jar her out of her fugue and she looked up at him. He saw the immense gratitude in her eyes and expected to hear her offer some sort of thanks. Instead- "You could've shot me."

Jarek blinked in surprised but before he could reply his commlink activated.

"Hey I'd love to hang around and see the suns set but I can't exactly gain altitude with the loading ramp still down!" Madlyn yelled, making Jarek wince. He hit the hatch controls and they both hurried aboard joining the others in the cockpit. Unsurprising Madlyn was at the controls, with Slick taking the copilots seat.

The _Krayt Fang_ thrummed around them as its engines powered all the way up, lifting the craft clear of the hanger bay doors and into the bright sunlight of the Tatooine sky. Soon Mos Shuuta vanished behind them as they raced out over the Dune Sea and climbed towards outer space. As they cleared the atmosphere the horizon turned from blue to black. Stars twinkled in the front viewport as the wide expanse stretched out before them.

Jarek was about to breathe a sigh of relief when an alert klaxon blared!

"Oh what now!" he couldn't help but shout feeling his temper flare.

Madlyn and Slick scanned the unfamiliar instrument panels looking for the source of the alarm. The Pantoran located it and started swearing in both Pantoran and Huttese...a lot. Jarek leaned forward and couldn't help but contribute some _Mando'a_ to the tirade.

As they left Tatooine's atmosphere, several spherical starfighters with distinctive hexagonal wing assemblies appeared on the ship's scanners, screaming in on an intercept course-Imperial TIE Fighters!

He just couldn't catch a break today.

Madlyn keyed the ships interior communications. "Hey, Tersen. How long till that Igniters installed."

"Hard to say," Came the reply, "This engine room's a mess. Never mind the engine itself."

"Work fast," Madlyn ordered strapping herself in tighter, "Sky's about to get really crowded."

"It's not like I'm changing a light fixture here!" Tersen Aboleth snapped back but said nothing else obviously focusing on the task at hand.

Madlyn looked back at Jarek and Slick. "If this crate has guns get on them. Buy us as much time as you can." This was the most serious Jarek had ever seen the Alderanni, and for some reason that scared him more than anything else this whole trip. Madlyn was _never_ serious.

They weren't clear of the planet's gravity well yet which affected speed and maneuverability and they couldn't make the jump to lightspeed without the igniter installed. They definitely couldn't jump with the tie fighters right up their exhaust.

Without another word, Era and Slick switched positions, then Slick ducked out of the cockpit and sprinted after Jarek towards the turret controls at the center of the vessel. While Slick took the top turret he took the bottom. He'd just strapped into the control chair when Madlyn's voice came over the intercom. "They're on us!" The freighter pitched and Jarek clutched at the controls bringing the turret around just in time.

The short range starfighters shot past, laser cannons blazing, and sparks flew from some exposed circuitry above him. He winced but remained focused. His scanners picked up four targets flying in pairs in a shifting figure eight formation. Standard Imperial Pattern.

The moment the first pair flew into view Jarek swiveled the turret about and pressed the trigger. The Medium Laser cannon spat a line of angry red bolts in the direction of the TIEs. Jarek led the target; focused fire just ahead of its projected flight path. He might have been able to hit one except the _Krayt Fang_ was banking left and right trying to confuse the TIE Pilots. It also served to confuse the _Fang_ 's gunners. Jarek swore but continued laying heavy fire onto the target.

Above him, Slick was yelling in his native tongue with each attack as if trying to goad the pilots into making a mistake. There were the sounds of an explosion followed by a cheer above Jarek's head. One TIE down.

"Tersen is that Igniter in pla-" Era's voice paused for a beat and then, "Why are the sensors showing smoke?"

The Lannik's voice came back muffled somewhat by the roar of the engines. "That would be because we're on fire! And will remain so until Kallos eases up on the engines!" There was the sound of Gare howling in obvious rage and frustration. "Less whining, more firefighting!"

Jarek swung his turret back around and zeroed in his own target and fired. The bolts stitched a line across the top of the crafts canopy before separating the left hexagonal panel from the rest of the ship. Jarek grinned menacingly as the ship spun helplessly towards the planet below.

Only two more fighters to go.

A sudden explosion rocked the ship, followed by muffled swearing and yells from the engine room. The lights flickered, then sparked, plunging the corridor into darkness. The ship and its weapons still had power, but the engines were making a deep moaning growl. Jarek and Slick had continued to fire away at the two remaining Ties. At best they'd only been able to disrupt their attack patterns thus reducing the amount of damage they could inflict. If Madlyn kept flying the way he did they may not have to attack at all.

A small piece of Jarek's mind wondered if this was where he was going to die; in the deep blackness of space surrounded by people, he barely knew and on a ship that was falling apart.

In a different life, Tersen Aboleth would have been a successful research engineer at a major corporation headquartered in the Core Worlds. In this life, Tersen grew up hard on the streets of Anchorhead, Tatooine. Orphaned at a young age, Aboleth was burdened with a powerful intellect and no useful way to apply it. He slid into a life of thuggery and crime, until one fateful day when he ran into an old Rodian mechanic named Honwoo.

Over the next few years, Honwoo taught Tersen the ins and outs of every machine that came through his repair shop. With no formal education, Tersen developed an unorthodox but effective approach that relied heavily on trial and error. She also found that he enjoyed tinkering and repurposing existing machines, turning them to a new purpose.

"Tersen is our ship still on fire?" Madlyn's voice was muffled somewhat by the roar of the engines, the sparking of consoles, and the guttering of intervening flames.

"Yes, _captain_ , this horrible ship we stole is _still_ on fire! And until you ease up on the engines, it's probably going to stay that way." The Lannik wiped his brow and turned back to the power coupling. If he could just...

A burst of growls and hisses broke her concentration as Gare burst into the room, hefting the Reactor Igniter housing. Lannik couldn't quite make out anything coherent in the Gank's stream of rapid-fire growls and curses, but he was pretty sure he understood the general meaning.

He wasn't happy. Tersen sympathized. The Engine room had been a wreck before they took off. Components and tools lay scattered about as if someone had been in the middle of the repairs then gave up and went home. He knew that installing the Igniter wasn't a simple "plug-and-play" job but the fact that its housing unit wasn't even in place yet made it all the more complicated.

"Less whining, more fire extinguishing. We've only got a few minutes of oxygen if that fire keeps eating it up. Get on it!"

"Bossy little..." Gare growled under his breath but did as he was bid. Once the housing was slotted into place he turned and grabbed the extinguisher asking, "Shouldn't we install the unit so we can get out of here?"

"Yes, I know," Tersen agreed without looking at the Gank. "But on the other hand, if we suffocate, the ship will be destroyed, right along with the igniter. Understand?" The former gladiator paused before shrugging. "That's what I thought. So I expect that fire to be smaller when I turn around."

Gratifyingly, the Gank's only response was the hiss of chemical propellant. Tersen let out a sigh and reached into his belt for a hydrospanner. He did hear Gare say something along the lines of, "my suits pressurized. I don't need as much oxygen as you runt."

A sudden explosion rocked the ship, and the hydrospanner clattered to the deck. Lights flickered, then sparked, plunging the corridor into darkness. The only light came from the flaming console. Tersen looked over his shoulder and shouted toward the cockpit. "What was that?"

"What?"

"What...was...that?"

"Can't hear you over the sound of the ship's engines. They supposed to be rumbling like that?"

Tersen ran his hand across the deck, grabbed the hydrospanner, and made her way to the cockpit. Gare started to protest at being left alone but continued fighting the fire as he'd been ordered. "No," Tersen declared angrily, "They are not supposed to rumble like that. Didn't I tell you to lay off the engines?"

The Alderanni did not turn in her chair to greet Tersen, and continued deftly operating the freighters controls while speaking. The star field before spun dizzyingly as the craft twisted through the void. Next, to her, Era was busy applying her mechanical know-how to repairing the damaged consoles, to busy even to acknowledge the Lannik's presence.

"Took it under consideration," Madlyn retorted, "Polled the TIEs on our tail. Funny thing, they didn't feel like slowing down for us. How rude, right?" Emphasizing her point, another streak of laser fire whipped past the viewscreen from behind, dissipating in the vastness of space.

Above he could hear Jarek and Slick firing away on the turrets doing their best to defend the ship. Given the state of the rest of the freighter, Tersen wouldn't be surprised if the guns targeting system was in desperate need of an upgrade.

"Well, if the engines explode, we die. Just keep that in mind."

"So keep the engines from exploding!"

"I would love to do that Madlyn. It would be easier if the circuits I needed to get to weren't ON FIRE, all because you won't slow the ship down!"

"I slow down, the _scum_ will blow our ship to pieces. Find me an answer Tersen!"

Tersen let out a long breath laced with guttural intonations of frustration, "Fine. I get it. Perform some magical feat of scientific genius or we die, right?"

"There you go."

Technology has shaped society in countless ways. It has defined how wars are fought, leading to the creation of sentient artificial beings, and put the galaxies most distant stars within reach via the hyperdrive. Without the brilliance of Technicians like Tersen, the galaxy would be unrecognizable.

And yet no matter how wondrous existing technologies are, there is no replacement for good old-fashioned ingenuity. Out on the fringes, Tersen had to be resourceful as well as brilliant, coming up with creative solutions to the problems he's faced.

The Lannik started pacing trying to examine the situation from all angles in an attempt to come up with an answer. "Okay. I could fix the engines through the panel if it wasn't on fire. The fires only going to keep getting worse while the engines are running. We can't turn the engines off. So we need to put out the fire...and Gare's suit is pressurized..."

"Wait...what?" Madlyn asked unable to follow her thoughts.

"Hold on, I need to go blow a small hole in the back of the ship."

"WHAT!?" Both Era and Madlyn shouted in unison.

"Just fly, I'll make sure we don't explode" Tersen ordered hurrying toward the engine room, inspiration in mind. "Well, that we only explode a little," he added under her breath.

Tersen stepped into the engine room to see Gare flailing futilely at the growing blaze. The Gank's swearing conveying his rising frustration. The being was a hired gun. Not a mechanic, but he was doing his best. The Lannik would consider teaching him a thing or two about general maintenance...provided that it paid attention to his instructions...and they didn't die. "Listen, Gare. I'm going to decompress the compartment. The atmosphere will be sucked out and the fire will starve. Then I can talk you through the repairs."

Gare looked down at the Lannik, then at the fire, then back down at him. He knew exactly what he had planned. "I want upgrades," he stated flatly.

The audacity of the mercenary impressed and annoyed the diminutive technician. He was a keeper. "Fine. If we all _don't_ die I'll..." He eyeballed his cybernetic arm and remembered Gank's fondness for the mechanical upgrades. "I'll install some advanced limb hydraulics. Okay?"

Gare considered the offer only too briefly before nodding. He turned and stepped dutifully towards the console as Tersen prepped the rear hatch to blow and exited the compartment before sealing the door.

"You were kidding about blowing a hole in my new ship," Madlyn called back, her tone laced with uncertainty, "Right?"

" _Our_ new ship," he stated before activating her comm. "Are you bolted down, Gare?" an affirmative grunt, "Good. Preparing to decompress the hatch in 3...2...1!"

Madlyn had never intended to be a pilot. As a small girl on Alderaan, she wasn't yet sure she even enjoyed flying or space travel yet. At a young age, her mother had taught her how to fly and she'd even taken a few willing merchants ship up for a spin, but she had never intended to become a pilot. No, what she'd wanted most was to be a swoop bike racer. Unfortunately, as life would have it, it seemed she had a knack for flying. After working for Teemo for so long she could definitely label herself as a smuggler, but she was still no pilot. Madlyn was a racer and she had the need for speed.

The _Krayt Fang_ was a ship model she wasn't intimately familiar with. Madlyn barely managed to use the navigation controls but as far as weapons and shields she was at a lost. Jarek had bragged about her ability to fly the 720s but in all honesty, she'd flown them so many times it wasn't that hard to make them do what they were designed to do.

If it wasn't for Slick doing what he did best, take care of her, she'd have never found the right controls before he left for the gun turret. At this point, she was doing everything she could just to stay ahead of the TIEs and avoid as much of their incoming fire.

Tersen's voice cut through his concentration. "Preparing to decompress the hatch in 3...2...1!" The freighter bucked as if a fist slammed down on its stern. The sudden release of compressed atmosphere forced the freighter into a painfully sharp ninety-degree pitch that no amount of inertial dampening could prepare her for. Madlyn spent several alarming seconds fighting the controls ignoring the coppery taste at the back of his throat. Below her Era clung desperately to whatever she could to keep from sliding.

When she finally reoriented herself, Madlyn was treated with the sight of a pair of Ion Thrusters directly in her viewport. The sudden change in flight had put the YT-1000 right behind one of the TIEs. One of the forward cannons of the _Krayt Fang_ opened fire, but the laser fire tracked just behind the target.

An enormous burst of green energy shredded their shields and jolted the freighter as the other TIE flashed by. Madlyn yanked the controls, attempting to keep the first ship in their sights. One of the turrets squeezed off a few more shots. To her surprise, an explosion of green ionized gas scattered debris and marked the TIEs end. The other fighter peeled off, running from the deadly laser fire.

Behind her, Kallos heard a shout of joy. Looking at the power gauges she didn't have to ask why. Somehow the Lannik Technician had managed to repair the engine and everything from power output to shields recycled back to 100%

They still had the remaining TIE target locked. Madlyn had thought that with the loss of most of his wingman the pilot would make tracks back to the planet. Instead, he arced back intent of finishing what he started. Just like Tersen, Madlyn was suddenly struck by inspiration.

"Tersen!" she called out, "Max out the forward shields! Give'em everything except the guns and engines. Slick, Jarek aim straight ahead. You'll get your target." If this didn't work, they wouldn't be around to need anything else. The TIE was faster than the Freighter and better armed. If they tried to escape to a jump-point they'd get cut to ribbons. They had no choice but to stand their ground and finish the fight.

Madlyn aimed the _Krayt Fang_ at the incoming snub-fighter and put the craft into a tight barrel roll. He hoped the concentrated laser barrage would make up for the damage they'd already sustained and disrupted the TIE's attack.

The enemy pilot met their attack head-on. Laser fire slammed into the _Fang's_ shield. Madlyn was betting one or both of her gunners could hit the unshielded craft before their own shields evaporated. One of Jarek's lashed across its hexagonal wing, forcing the pilot to alter course and shoot wide. Madlyn instantly broke his role and Slick blasted him with everything he had. Momentum took them through the exploding fireball.

Just then Tersen's voice yelled out, "Igniter patched in. Should be enough to get us to the edge of the system."

"Should?" Madlyn asked voiced laced with skepticism.

"Just punch it!" Era and Gare yelled in unison.

A split second later Jarek saw the stars streak passed in a blur of white-blue light. They were only in hyperspace less than a minute before they exited back into real-space. Tatooine was gone, the TIEs were gone and the Twin Suns were a distant memory. He relaxed back into his seat and breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

They had escaped Mos Shuuta.


	9. Chapter 9 Epilogue

Disclaimer: I do not own star wars or any of its character and while plot points are from various RPG games I take no credit for their origins only of their application in the story therein. This a labor of love and not for profit though if Disney or Lucas Arts would like to hire my creative brain I'd be more then happy to drop everything and come running. Please read and leave a review.

 **Episode 2: Mandalorian Servant**

 **Chapter 9: Epilogue**

 **Back in Mos Shuuta moments after take-off**

The older Mandalorian did his best to remain upright, but after several hours walking overland, it was difficult to keep the stagger out of his steps. Despite being in good shape for his age and the fact his _beskar'gam_ regulated his bodies temperature he could tell his underclothes were thoroughly soaked with sweat and that every muscle in his lower body would be especially sore later on.

When he walked into the Whomp Rat's Den he found it mostly empty, aside from a single Deveronian bartender. The place hadn't been pretty before but between the blaster scorch marks in the walls and blood staining the floor what little appeal it had was quickly evaporating. The blood on the floor was already congealed and the scorch marks retained some ionized heat. Whatever had occurred happened a few hours before his arrival in the settlement.

The bartender paused in his straightening of a few chairs and looked around at the newcomer. He seemed about to tell him they were closed for the day when he was brought up short at the site of his armor.

The expression wasn't one of surprise. It bordered more on annoyance and aggravation. "Another one," he murmured angrily. His words confirmed the Watcher's suspicion. He wasn't the first Mandalorian he'd seen.

Ignoring the comment, the warrior walked to the bar. He slapped a credit on the counter before grabbing a bottle of water from behind it. Tilting his helmet back he downed half the liquid in a few quick gulps before lowering both. The Deveronian started to protest but once again seemed to think better. He was definitely a smart one for his species.

Taking the seat next to his only patron the Deveronian cocked his head and gave him a critical eye. "Rough day?"

The Mandalorian only growled in response before drinking more from the bottle. He knew he looked rough. His _beskar'gam_ was already scorched from the crash and was now no doubt covered in dust and sand. His attitude wasn't in much better shape.

"You've seen _another_ Mandalorian here." It wasn't a question. The bartender's expression and tone from earlier already verified that. "When?"

The Deveronian sneered. "Maybe I have. Maybe I haven't. What's it to you?"

Turning the man looked at the bartender, the black visor of his helmet easily masking his annoyed expression. The Deveronian only had time to blink before the warrior unholstered his blaster and leveled it right between his eyes.

Once again the Deveronian showed good sense and answered. "Earlier today." He gestured at the damage and blood. "Shot up the place. Killed five of Teemo's guys."

"Who is this Teemo and what does he want with the Mandalorian?"

The bartender shrugged. At an insisting prod form, the Watcher's pistol the Deveronian began talking. "Teemo the Hutt. Works for Jabba," he hurriedly said, "Something about skipping out on a debt. Took some of his people and left the settlement." The Warrior ground his teeth. His prey had already moved on. He had expected it but it would have been a refreshing change of pace had Jarek stood his ground.

"Fled with whom? How?"

The Deveronian made a soothing gesture and Mandalorian slowly lowered his weapon. The relief showed on the bartenders face. "A small crew. Stole a YT-Freighter and left."

"What crew?"

"A human, a Gank, a Lannik, a Mirialin, and a Pantoran. They all used to work for Teemo."

This new bit of information...intrigued the Watcher. Jarek was a skilled warrior to be sure. He knew this because he'd helped hone those skills personally. But where his true talent lay was relating to other beings and getting them to follow him. This was a trait he'd manage to develop on his own. His...resourcefulness, and confidence drew others to him. It was how he'd managed to stay ahead of the _Kyr'tsad_ for so long.

This...crew, such as they were, presented yet another obstacle. He might've been able to take Jarek on his own but now he had support. The Watcher had to adapt.

"Nearest spaceport," he demanded.

The Deveronian pointed out the door answering. "Take a right at the end of the street and keep straight." He holstered his weapon, turned and walk towards the door. "Empire and Teemo have the port locked down," he called after him, "You may not even get off-planet."

The warrior paused at the door and looked back, once more allowing his helmet to convey his emotion. "Do I look like I'd take no for an answer?" He stepped out into the golden twilight and headed for the spaceport. He keyed his long-range communicator. "Overwatch, this is Watcher01. Target's fled off-world. Rendezvous with you in Mos Eisley."


End file.
